


The Legend of Zelda: Linked Tales (more to come soon)

by NoxteryWorks



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms
Genre: Gen, Like a novel, first part of a trilogy, original "game", part one: calamity
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-05
Updated: 2018-09-05
Packaged: 2019-07-07 10:24:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 22
Words: 41,928
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15906375
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NoxteryWorks/pseuds/NoxteryWorks
Summary: Hyrule is blossoming and is about to celebrate a huge political union with other tribes. However, as the both Link's hometown Naavis as well as in the castle town, currently under Princess Zelda's careful watch, are suddenly attacked and mysterious circumstances throw the land - and their personal lives - into chaos, they will have to do everything they can to save Hyrule from certain doom.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This chapter is also available as a podcast episode!  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKKi1pJI7No  
> and  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R2hsEyLqvyo

THE LEGEND OF ZELDA:  
Linked Tales

 

Prologue

 

There is a tale of a land so prosperous, yet so unfortunate.  
It has faced many perils: a hero, defied by his own people; a mage, kidnapping holy maidens to usurp their magic; a small man with great powers and even greater desires; and, worst of all, the most horrifying demise that once wrecked the entire world.   
This land, it draws evil. Its very essence is so pure and sought by those who want its powers, that it cannot avoid the attraction of all the vile, dark hearts that aim to take the land for their own.  
However, this prosperous land has not even seen the worst of evil. Far from it.  
Before such downfall, there has usually always been two saviours, protecting the land with their powers inherited from their ancestors: and thus, defeating the evil in the nick of time; before it has taken root deep inside their beloved lands; always and always fighting the darkness in a never-ending cycle.  
However, these saviours are not as mighty as one might think. Not in particular, anyway: even with their awesome powers, they, too, are only human.  
And as mentioned, this land has not seen the worst of evil…  
Yet.  
The Princess of Hyrule has been having strange dreams lately. And as everybody knows, a Princess’ dream is always a bad omen – one of impending doom...

 

PART ONE: CALAMITY

 

Chapter One:

It was dark. Link was covered in deep, unbroken blackness – but he wasn’t afraid. This was a warm and secure place. Nothing could threaten him here. And for some reason, he had a feeling that soon, very soon, something would happen.  
He was right. Suddenly, it wasn't that dark anymore. Three tiny lights appeared not too far away from him. Link stared at the lights as they slowly, slowly, began to shift their shapes before his eyes.   
In almost dance-like motion, the lights pulsated and grew as they took the form of three small animals: a purple bunny, a yellow fox, and a white bird. When they had finished their stunning dance of transformation, they sat down in a half-circle and stared intently at Link. This was an invitation.  
Link walked up to the animals. They had very kind faces.   
It was something about those faces. Looking at them, Link felt overjoyed, but so very sad at the same time. Intense emotions mixed in his heart and became a colourful, messy blur. It was… strange, and so alarmingly confusing… but he still remained physically calm, somehow, as his insides were raging with emotions.  
Oh, no… no, he wasn’t that calm anymore. Even though he fought it, he really tried fighting it, tears began running down on his smiling face. If Link had seen his own face right now he would’ve thought of it as unsettling. He didn’t like this feeling! He didn’t like it at all!  
And the next second, it got even worse.  
”Link!” the fox called out. “Link, Link! I’m so glad to see you!”  
For some reason, the fox’s voice made Link want to cry even harder. He started to snivel, trying to keep calm. No… he couldn’t cry now… but why? What did it matter if the animals saw him cry? But why did he not want to show them? What was this!?  
Link’s head began to throb, painlessly. It was so confusing. He took a deep breath and tried to calm down, inhaling… exhaling… inhaling...   
No. It didn’t work. Link closed his eyes and grunted. This stupid… feeling... His face began to vibrate and get warm. The burning tears wouldn’t stop flowing.  
He hated this. But the animals… he felt a connection to them… a deep, loving one, as if they were tied by invisible strings of affection straight to his heart…  
… and now they, too, seemed to grow worried from his frustration.  
”What's wrong, Link?” asked white bird.  
”Why are you sad, Link?” the now worried yellow fox said.  
”Do you remember now, Link?” inquired the white bird. “Do you remember? Do you? Do you? Link? Link? Do you!?”  
The two animals kept on calling out his name, shooting alarmed looks at the poor boy. Only the purple bunny sat completely still and stared deep into Link’s eyes.   
It was always quiet. It was always staring. Link wasn’t sure if he liked it or not. At least it didn’t upset him too much, like the voices of the other animals did.  
The bunny’s gaze was not threatening, but it did make him feel a bit… exposed, like it somehow was gazing deep into his soul, studying his heart through the eyes, seeing the very core of his essence. It was just sitting there, silently, and Link didn’t dare do anything else but stare back at it, he too completely silent.  
As they stared at each other, Link’s vision got blurry. And slowly, as if in trance, Link started to feel… dizzy…  
“Link! Link!” the fox shouted.  
“Link, please, Link!” the bird chirped.  
”Link... Link...”  
Link shook his head in frustration. No. He had to keep his sane. What was going on!? It felt so… familiar… and yet...  
”OI, LINK!!”  
Link opened his eyes.  
He sat up gasping loudly. His rye-blonde hair was a complete mess, and his blue eyes wide open in confusion, his skin soaked in cold sweat.  
Realising what was going on, Link exhaled and scratched his head. Those darn dreams. They always felt so… vivid… jolting back to the real world was always a bit shocking for him.  
Someone beside him laughed. “Hey, man, sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up THAT violently! Calm down, yo! Look, it's just me – Trinnean!”  
Link turned his head. By his bedside table, a tall, muscular redhead stood; it was indeed Trinnean, Link’s best friend, laughing lightly.  
”You look terrible, man”, Trinnean exclaimed. “Like you've been wrestling with the bed in your sleep, or something.”  
Link exhaled again and let out a relaxed laugh. He probably did look terrible this morning. He still felt tired and – well, actually, exhausted, just as if he actually had wrestled the bed. The very thought of it sounded like something he very likely could do in his sleep – he imagined it being quite a sight.  
”There we go”, Trinnean grinned. “Finally up and about. About time, too. You kind of overslept, you know. Again. Heh. But today I decided I wouldn't let you sleep for too long. Big day ahead of us and all – you need to be well-rested, but on time! Heh heh.”  
He walked to the kitchen, still blabbering on about what was to come. Link didn’t listen; he just watched from bed how his friend walked over to the water barrel and scooped himself up a drink from there, still talking. Such a conversation was possible, as Link lived in such a small – but cosy – house, where bedroom, living room and kitchen fit in into one huge space, the two beds in a small alcove, divided from the rest of the room, only separated by a curtain – that now Trinnean had pulled open to let in the sunlight.   
Most furniture in Link’s home was made out of wood, plain, simple and unpainted, with a few exceptions painted in bright colours like red, blue and green, accentuating the khaki-coloured, homey feeling. Link had made a great deal of these pieces of furniture himself… something he took pride in.  
Now Trinnean was talking more loudly, even striking a weird pose by the kitchen counter as he rapidly went on about something that Link didn’t comprehend quite yet. It was too early to concentrate properly… and Link wasn’t in the mood for such joyful banter right now anyway.  
He looked down on the floor, sitting up in bed and hugging his legs tightly. He felt a bit... off. He often did these mornings. Like he was lingering in some sort of sadness – but at the same time, it was not sadness… but it was, so...  
Then, he noticed that Trinnean had stopped talking. With slightly panicked eyes, he turned his gaze up just to see his friend looking back at him with a worried face.  
”Hey, I know that look”, Trinnean said softly. “Considering you’re not saying anything at all, and seemingly forgotten what day it is today… you had one of those dreams again, huh? The one with the off-coloured animals?”  
Link nodded slowly. He put his hand into shirt and produced the carved, wooden pendant he always wore around his neck.   
The pendant that looked like a purple bunny.  
It was a mystery. Link knew nothing about it – in fact, he remembered nothing of his past, and it frustrated him. But especially the bunny pendant made him feel like he wanted to know more. Anything! Just the slightest piece of memory would be enough!  
Of course, he had been told something about it. According to the one he lived with – Archie, his foster father – or Uncle, as Link referred him as, since father felt like a weird title to Link – anyway... according to Archie’s own words, he had found Link about thirteen years ago, when Link was just a little kid, in a bush, beaten, afraid, and clutching to this very pendant, so it must’ve been important. But why? Why was it so important?  
And then was that dream with the animals. Every time he had that dream, Link couldn’t stop thinking about the bunny. What did it mean? What did the other animals represent? How were they connected to his past and why couldn’t he remember anything about it?  
”Uh, yo, Link…?” Trinnean interrupted his thoughts. He sighed and put down the cup of water on the counter with a worried look on his face. “I know this is frustrating for you, but… okay, so, look, I’ve been meaning to tell you for quite a while now. Please, don’t… don’t take this the wrong way, okay? So, uh, I know it must be tough having nothing but that pendant left from your past, but... hey. I mean, if you don't remember anything, maybe it's not meant to be. Maybe you had a horrible life back then.”  
Link sighed. The thought had struck him a few times, yes. It was possible, sure… but still… he huddled up even more, bringing his legs closer to his chest and burrowing his head between his knees. He didn’t want to think about that now.  
“Oh, dang, no, sorry!” Trinnean blurted out. “I… I really didn’t mean to worsen this. Look, man. What I’ve been trying to say is… the past is the past. And now is now. And now you’re here. You’ve been here most of your life, your life is here, and uh, life isn't bad here in Naavis, right?” Trinnean continued nervously. “I mean, sure, it's a bit boring sometimes, or, very boring, heh. But you're surrounded by awesome people, right? Like my family... and the shopkeepers… well, I mean, except for Rhys, of course, but the others... and then, there’s Archie! I mean, sure, your past is important – and if you really want to find out what happened, you sure will someday, that much I know about you, you’re determined as heck, and I’ll gladly help you if you want that – but, uh, I want you to know and remember that you’re important in the present, too. And loved. By all of us. All of Naavis is here for you, man. We love you. And… yeah.” Trinnean blushed a bit and turned his head away. “That’s… what I wanted to say...”  
Link peeked up and saw his friend’s embarrassed face. Heh. This was a nugget of rarity. Before he even realised it, Link chuckled at the scene.  
“Oi!” Trinnean grunted. “Don’t think you can make fun of me for this… I just… wanted to remind you of the people that love you! Also that we’re your home and stuff like that… I… accidentally just made it too… cheesy, that’s all, so, uh...”  
Link couldn’t help but smile. Well. Trinnean might’ve been put it all in a very awkward way – for him, that was – but what he was saying was true. Link felt the anxiety slowly melt from him as warm memories slowly crept into his heart.  
Yes. There were good people in Naavis. People he loved. An entire village he loved. Calm, quiet Naavis. Home.  
But especially one person was like ‘home’ to Link.  
Archie.   
Link looked at the empty bed at the other side of the alcove, feeling joy slowly flush over him, like a small, warm shower of light.   
”He's going to return today, ain't he?” Trinnean asked. “From his very last quest.”  
Link nodded again. That was going to be amazing. They had planned a big celebration for that. Uncle Archie was getting old and could no longer do errands for the King of Hyrule – well, not as well as he used to, anyway. But this last mission he had accepted. For old time's sake.  
Link was happy about that – Archie had been wanting to stop working for a while now, his back getting really bad, even if he still found the adventures fun. But he had deserved that retirement for quite a long time, and Link was starting to feel lonely around the house. Going out with a bang though, was really something Uncle always wanted, so, Link was glad he had a chance to do that. Archie had told him this last mission would be something really honourable… so a big celebration feast was in order upon his return.  
”Well, that's good! I'm sure mum and dad could whip up a great dinner for us all to enjoy”, Trinnean exclaimed happily. “Hey, you look like you’re starting to feel alive again. Perfect timing. We have other things to take care of! Important things, at that!” Trinnean beamed and punched the air above him. “You excited or what? Because we are going to RULE!”   
Link wrinkled his eyebrows in confusion.  
“What?” he asked, not quite sure what Trinnean was talking about.  
The red-head’s eyes widened as he sipped on his cup of water. He almost choked on his drink.  
”Don't... don't tell me you've forgotten, man!” he coughed. “The play! For the Union Ceremony celebration in town!? Auditions! Today!?”  
Link jolted in panic. The auditions! How could he have forgotten such an important thing!? Oh, dang, that weird dream really took up a lot of his brain capacity!  
”There you go, fully out of dreamland now, huh?” Trinnean laughed, putting down his cup. “We're not late yet... but we better get a move on if we want to go first. C'mon man, get out of bed. Race you to the spot!”  
As Trinnean dashed away, Link rose from bed with an excited smile – but also with a heavy heart. He wanted to go to the auditions, sure, absolutely! He had looked forward to this day. So much!  
… so why did he feel like he was about to betray someone?


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zelda is very much content with all the hard work she has put into this political union. Then, she is attacked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is also available as a podcast episode!
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eLwV0_Wnf-A

Chapter Two:

Hyrule Field was as green as ever.  
Princess Zelda looked from her castle upon her kingdom. A light breeze was blowing through her long red hair, and rustling her long, white skirt. The air smelt sweet, like the first flowers of spring.   
Zelda loved this. Her beloved Hyrule was perfect in every way possible. And soon, it would expand… She smiled over the faraway lands that soon would join Hyrule in union; the mountains in the east, the great lake in the west, and the forest in the south-east...  
”I look forward to you joining us”, Zelda whispered to herself. “I had my doubts, I must admit, but it looks like this union will be one of the best decisions I and father have taken together... politics are difficult, but we did it... we managed to do something good. For everyone.”  
There was no end to how content she was about everything. She was happy – she was proud! Zelda and her father the King had worked hard for this. Hyrule would enter a new, more prosperous era now. It was all worth it.  
She walked to the ledge of the balcony, closed her eyes and enjoyed the sunlight for a moment, basking in the warmth. It felt so nice...  
… until she felt the sunlight quickly disappear.   
Zelda opened her eyes. Dark clouds covered the sky. A chill ran down the Princess’ spine.  
Clouds... huge, dark clouds, loaded with electricity, thunder echoing over the plains, lightning hitting trees and villages and everything tall alone out in the open…   
These were no ordinary storm clouds. Zelda felt that there was something behind them. Something darker, something more… evil. She braced herself and prepared to do anything – fight, run, call for help… anything – if needed.  
But before she could move, she saw something horrendous, something that made the Princess freeze where she stood.  
A face took shape in the cloud right in front of her. No… not only that one. All of the clouds turned into faces, both men and women with eyes burning from electricity and anger – but none worse than the one right in front of her.  
And then there were clouds that looked like hideous pig-monsters. Their snouts were long, but their eyes showed the anger of trolls or ogres, like ones in illustrations of the darkest of fairytales. Their howl was screeching. Hearing it, Princess Zelda felt like her blood froze and turned into ice. Her muscles stiffened.   
Zelda felt panic spread through her body. She tried to run away – but for some reason, she was frozen stuck in place. It was like she was glued to the very air itself.  
“Oh, no!” she gasped. The fear took over her body completely now, and she started to cry from panic. “No, no, no, no, no, no…!”  
No, indeed. No matter how she tried to move her feet, her arms, nothing happened, only her neck, until it, too, was forced towards the direction of the clouds. Zelda was face to face with a man’s head, his giant nose just a few millimetres from hers.   
She dared not speak. She dared not even blink. This enormous face in front of her seemed to be the worst of demons, far worse than anything she could ever imagine to save her life. Zelda felt her body starting to shiver and she feared she would be dead soon. Her eyes tried to look away, but they were strongly drawn to the man’s eyes, like a magnet.   
His eyes were like suns. Big, bright suns, staring right into her eyes, hungrily, angrily, like they wanted to destroy her, but at the same time was enjoying seeing Zelda in pain, like it wanted to torture her for eternity… they looked so sadistic, so very sadistic...  
The cloud man chuckled. It sounded like thunder. Zelda hated the sound of it. She wished he would have killed her already – rather that, than go through whatever this… monster… had planned for her. She gulped at the mere thought. Who knew what that could be…?  
Then, the cloud let out a loud shout. In an instant, the other clouds were conjured to him, covering the castle town, letting down a storm of rain and thunder, setting the town instantly on fire, and it spread quickly, in spite of the rain, yes, the whole place was soon on fire. The pig-monster-clouds laughed, a purely evil laugh, as they utterly and completely destroyed the castle town with such… glee…!!  
The flames spread far too quickly. People everywhere were screaming, trying to escape from certain death, but it was all futile.  
Zelda screamed. She screamed and screamed and couldn’t stop, which annoyed the face in front of her. He grunted at her, huffing hot air. Zelda didn’t stop. How could she? She was terrified! She would die, right here, right now! And now, the big face opened its mouth, dashing towards Zelda, and she was engulfed in complete darkness.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Link realises that he's been lying to himself in order not to hurt his best friend, which creates a conflict of his own feelings and wishes.

Chapter three:

Link had this funny, sad kind of feeling. It worsened as he saw Trinnean so happy, already rapidly climbing down the ladder of his treetop house.  
“Come on, man, you’re gonna lose!” the friend teased.  
Lose? Losing was… not important… was it? Link sighed. No, wait. There was something… no. Link shook his head vividly. Whatever it was, it was probably just his imagination. He would never betray Trinnean. Never, ever.   
Besides, it was time to race.  
Trinnean might have gotten a head start, but Link still had a chance if he was smart. He was determined to defeat his friend.   
Oh, man, was he going to show him.  
”You can't beat me!” Trinnean screamed teasingly from the top of his lungs.  
Link let out a laugh. Okay. He was not going to be defeated that easily. He, too climbed down the ladder and let the adrenaline take over his body.  
With the first steps, Link felt his blood beginning to pump. Such a rush. Such fun! The fresh air and thought of beating Trinnean really helped clearing his head. Link was ready to show what he was made of. Trinnean was going to be sorry he ever challenged him.  
Naavis wasn’t a big place. It was a very green village, surrounded by trees and crop fields, the village itself mostly placed in a tiny meadow valley just at the brink of the Great Eastern Woods. Well, of course, the village stable and barn, with a windmill house, were placed on a high hill, but most residents lived in the valley. Houses were scattered here and there, wherever one wanted to live, among all trees and bushes, and all of the houses looking rather personal – like the local shop, painted in bright pink with a grass roof and some colourful flowers planted on top. Even the few basic and boring brick- and white cement houses with tiled roofs had fun and colourful patterns painted along the borders. And then, there was the bulletin board, oh, and a waterwheel, it was right by a small creek that went through all of Naavis – that creek was great for fishing. And everywhere in the village, there were animals and flowers.  
Link loved Naavis. It was such a personal, messy-looking remote village, with everyone being themselves openly and freely at all times.   
And it was indeed a great racing ground. With such a wild structure, one could always come up with new shortcuts and ideas to make any game more fun. And today sure was a great challenge; the auditions were going to be hold on the other side of the village, close to the forest border.  
As the boys sprinted through the village, Link remembered a shortcut – he had to climb some trees and rooftops on the way, jump over the creek instead of running over the bridge that was placed so far away, and then, smoothly soaring down the rooftop with the help of a cuckoo. That wasn't cheating, right? It was way more work than just running, anyway, but it did get him to the destination a bit quicker. Besides, it was a more fun route.  
Aaaaaaand… YES! He arrived at the spot, an old lot of grass, marked out with round stones, right before Trinnean, who arrived just a few seconds later. Link grinned widely in a mocking fashion, just as close friends usually do to each other. Trinnean let out a laugh.  
”Man!” he panted, “you've been training, haven't you? I thought running through the shop was a good idea... apparently not, huh!”  
Link chuckled and flexed, showing off his muscles. Indeed, he had been training – that, and Trinnean had made a bad choice. Of course Link would win!  
”Well, I accept my defeat”, Trinnean sighed and rose his hands. “Today. But I still want a rematch sometime soon! Just watch out, my revenge will be sweet!”  
“Bring it!” Link laughed. “Anytime!”  
”Good.” Trinnean smiled brightly. “Righty then... whew, we made it! Look! They're just finishing up the princess auditions!”  
Indeed. In the empty grass lot, a bunch of the villager girls stood lined up in front of the table which the judges sat by; those being the prissy mayor Bram, village elder Merrick the mage, and Bram's younger brother Bo, a retired, scruff warrior vagabond. In front of them a huge, square grassy lot had been set up as an improvisatory stage, where all the villager girls stood, waiting for dismissal.  
The girls were thanked for their participation and told that the results would be revealed in the evening. After that, they were dismissed.  
”Gosh, I wonder who's gonna be the princess”, said Trinnean. “I reeeeaaaally hope Kaylia won't be chosen. I mean, if I'm the hero, it'd be awkward rescuing your little sister... even though I'd probably do so if she truly was in any danger, but... this play... don't you think there's some romantic tension between the hero and the princess, man? Even if he in the end moves away forever? I mean, come on, it's like a basic fairy tale, the princess and the hero got to be together! Right??”  
Well, in Link’s opinion, it didn’t matter. There was no romance in the legend, so it wasn’t a big deal, really. If he’d be chosen as the hero – which he of course would not, he had his heart set on the villain… or… well, more or less – or, did he… really… it was what he and Trinnean had talked about wasn’t it? Link wanted to be the villain. Yes. He did.  
But… no… but… yes…? The hero did sound like fun, but that was Trinnean’s thing, and besides, the whole play was more of his thing and Link just tagged along for fun, right? … but why did he feel wrong telling himself that?   
Link felt a bit confused, and he had a nagging feeling in his chest.  
Well, nevertheless – the hero and princess wasn’t all romantic. At all. He was just about to tell Trinnean that, but another voice got to it before him.  
”You truly have high expectations, brother”, it sweetly called from behind Trinnean's back. “For yourself, that is. Do you truly think that I won't win?”   
He jolted in surprise as he turned around. Link looked into the eyes of Kaylia.  
”Y-yo, sis!” Trinnean greeted, a bit awkwardly.  
”To you as well”, Kaylia half scoffed, half laughed.  
Kaylia was a sweet young girl with good manners – but she really liked teasing her brother. Her long, mahogany-coloured hair was always neatly brushed and her apron constantly stainless, in spite of the many chores she did. Link was impressed that she kept so tidy considering everything she did – and how different she and Trinnean were. It was usually funny to see brother and sister communicate, so Link stepped back and enjoyed the show.  
”What do you mean, 'high expectations'?” Trinnean grunted. “Of course I'll be the hero! My acting’s top-notch and I look like one – I mean, look at my muscles!”  
He flexed and posed, a confident smile taking up half his face. Link and Kaylia tried not to laugh.   
“Besides”, Trinnean continued, “you know how much I’ve wanted this, Kaye! I mean, ever since it was announced we do this act in front of everyone of Hyrule – and the Princess, too! – I’ve not been able to think about anything else! I have to become the hero! And as a bonus – how else will I ever meet with – you know, the Princess Zelda!? It’s not like she’d ever come to a boring little village like this. I need to impress her while I have the chance if I ever want to make it big!”  
Kaylia couldn’t hold it anymore. She laughed softly, but without insulting her brother.  
Yet.  
”Alright, let us presume that you will be the hero, brother dearest. Setting that aside, does the play truly have a need to be romantic?” she countered. “What if you, as the hero, end up with Lorna as your princess? Wouldn't Rhys get mad at you?”  
”But it’s not for real!” Trinnean persisted.” Just… I mean, c’mon, it's a classic tale! Hero and princess! It's meant to be romantic!”  
”Not necessarily”, Kaylia replied calmly. “There are no indications of it in the classic legend. Perhaps the princess and the hero were related, just like you and I, brother dear? When we don’t know about such details, everything is possible. Hm… now that I think about it, nobody knows even what the hero really looked like”, Kaylia pointed out pensively, “hmm… what if the hero had quite… feminine attributes? Then a girl could play him, pretending to be a boy. Wouldn’t that be great?”  
”Oh yeah?” Trinnean scoffed. “And what girl would that be? You?”  
Link could see that Trinnean instantly regretted saying that. In a matter of seconds, Kaylia's face turned from calm to beaming in joy and inspiration.  
Link smiled to himself. Oh, this was going to be great.  
”Actually... why not?”, she said, suddenly sounding quite energetic. “It would be great fun! I could stick around for those try-outs as well. Oh, and what if I do get the part of the hero”, Kaylia mused. “And I could very well imagine you getting cast as the princess, dear brother – or more accurately, the prince, in that case. Then I would have yo rescue you...”  
Trinnean groaned.” Yo, bad joke, sis. Bad joke. Please, stop there.”  
”Do you really think so?” Kaylia let out a laugh. It sounded like a bunch of small silver bells ringing in harmony. “I think it is a splendid idea! Oh, please, brother, let me continue; I could actually create the most brilliant story from this! Imagine it; a young girl with crossbows – no, a magical harp! – no, actually, why not both!? – setting out to rescue her clumsy older brother, that fell into a dark pit and got kidnapped by a horrendous monster...”  
Trinnean groaned loudly.   
”Well, telling such a tall tale with such vigour, Kaylia stands a much better chance becoming a hero than you indeed”, someone behind them laughed tauntingly.  
The group turned around. The voice belonged to Rhys, another village youth.   
He looked quite fashionable with his long, white hair in a tress and designer clothes, but his dramatical personality did unfortunately not match his beauty. Naturally, he made an enemy out of everyone who he thought of as a threat to his greatness. Link was no exception.  
Link had no problem with Rhys – not really, okay, not that much, at least, but sometimes, he could be a quite annoying. His two – and only – friends, always in tow, were at least much better and less annoying. Well, at least the dark, mysterious and actually rather kind-hearted Conrat with the weird insect hobby going on together with his little sister, who Link thought was an adorable little girl and quite a contrast to her brother, as she was often dressed in frilly, bright dresses and had the personality of a sunbeam. Strangely enough the two siblings got very well along.   
Then, there was Rhys’ other friend… the spoiled Henny, who had the looks of a cherub yet the heart of what he truly was; a short, rich little brat, finely dressed but manners... well, he could be annoying at times. Very, very annoying.  
But not nearly as bad as Rhys.  
”Although, little Kaylia here won't be the hero anyway, even if she decides to try. For that part is mine”, Rhys continued, emphasizing the word “mine” as much as he could, gesturing to himself dramatically.   
Link sighed and rolled his eyes. Here we go again, he thought, and braced himself for the upcoming monologue.  
“And thus”, he continued dramatically, twirling his hands in extravagant motions as he spoke, “I will be the one who goes off to castle town to play the hero in front of all of Hyrule's new people! And the king! And the princess!! And –”  
”Come now, Rhys, won't you stop?” sighed someone else.   
Link sighed in relief. How lucky! A true hero of the hour had appeared!  
Rhys' girlfriend Lorna walked up to her beloved and gave him a tired look. She was just as fashionable as her boyfriend, but she had never adapted his attitude – no, Lorna was always keen on showing kindness and humanity towards everyone. She looked quite fresh with her brand-new clothes in bright, flashy colours, like red and pink and neon green, and her sand-coloured hair was made into a neat bun. But her tiny, button-like eyes had a very dejected, almost tired, look in them.  
”What, it's true”, Rhys almost spat. “Lorna, these losers don't stand a chance to me. Ever.”  
”Sure, darling, sure”, Lorna sighed and gazed at Trinnean, Link and Kaylia, as if to apologize for her boyfriend's behaviour.  
”You know, you should really start listening to Lorna more”, Link heard Henny mutter. “Then maybe you wouldn't be such a drag to hang around...”   
”What”, Rhys begun, “do you mean that I'm...”  
At that moment, he was – luckily – interrupted by Mayor Bram, who loudly called out:  
”ATTENTION! ATTENTION! Everyone wishing to apply for the roles of the gallant hero and the evil wizard, please line up! I repeat; please line up!”  
”That's our cue”, Trinnean said, grabbed Link's hands and rushed to the table as fast as he could. Link barely had time to react, but sprinted to keep up with the big guy. He turned his face towards the girls and waved at them, as they laughed and waved their hands back at him.  
”Good luck!” he saw Kaylia mime.  
Link returned the gesture with a smile and a peace sign as thanks. How nice of her! With that encouragement, he surely could beat both Rhys and Trinnean and become the hero of the play, nothing could stop him now…  
Link stopped himself. For a while he felt unreal. What had he just thought?  
Oh, no… no… that stupid feeling was back. Link felt his heart beat increasing.   
This was wrong.  
He should have realised it, sure. Maybe he had known all along, he had just tried to ignore it for so long and told himself lies…  
… but he wanted the hero part. He did! He really did!  
… but… what about Trinnean? Link knew he had looked forward to this ever since the play was announced… he had practised day and night for this, and talked about how fun it would be if Link became the villain, so they could battle together…  
… of course, Link had felt that the hero was fun, too, but stepped aside when he saw how serious Trinnean was about this… and then forgotten about his own feelings… until they now forcefully had dashed to the surface, suddenly very real again.  
Link could almost start crying from panic.  
… what should he do now!?


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zelda contemplates about her dream and realises it truly IS bad, and Hyrule could truly be in danger, but, it could also be just a dream. She tries telling herself that due to all the stress she's been having, but her gut feeling goes against her.

Chapter Four:

Princess Zelda woke up in a cold sweat.  
She had had that dream again. That terrible, terrible dream… this was the second night in a row she had it. It started to worry her.  
Not for her own sake. But for Hyrule’s.  
Her own mental health was fine, that she was certain of. She had always coped with problems extraordinarily well, according to her father, the doctors, and of course also her trusted right hand, Impa. For most people, this would’ve been just a nightmare, and they would’ve tried to process it and then forget it, and leave it at that.  
But not Princess Zelda. Not any of the Princess Zelda’s in history, in fact.  
Ever since Zelda was little, Impa had told her that if she ever has any strange dreams about Hyrule’s downfall, the Princess should talk to her immediately. Impa was sure to mention over and over that even if it didn’t feel like it, Princesses’ dreams were not only dreams, but also omens – and bad ones, at that. They had to be taken seriously.  
Upon realising what this could mean, Zelda shivered.   
Hyrule could be in danger.  
Princess Zelda inhaled deeply. She didn’t want to believe this. She had a hard time believing it, actually. She trusted Impa, yes, but the dream, Zelda thought, could very well just be that… just a dream. Nothing else.   
She had a lot of pressure on her right now. It could just be a side effect from all the stress. With the Union Ceremony coming up, and so many protesting it, as well as rumours of people inside the castle trying to stop it or worsen the situation for the tribes joining Hyrule… that would be unacceptable. Princess Zelda and her father had arranged a team to research that rumour, but the team had turned up with nothing so far. Zelda believed that there was nothing to fear of, either.  
And now, as her father was out on one of his monthly check-ups of Hyrule, as he called them, even though Zelda suspected there was something else to it… but anyway, while he was gone, she was in charge of everything in the castle. All the paperwork, all the meetings, all the decision-making… everything.   
It was tedious. Zelda wished for nothing more than help with the political matters, not because she was incompetent; goodness no, she was more than well-taught and clever enough to rule the country if she so wanted, but right now there was so much more to take care of than the ordinary tasks.  
She closed her eyes, finally feeling a bit calmed down, and exhaled. Today, she had a meeting with the ambassadors from the Goron and the Pazora tribes, as well as the mysterious, short representative from the secret forest tribe whose name she didn’t even know… Chancellor Marten was going to be present, and she had to watch him, he had a tendency to speak rudely to everyone beneath himself, and she didn’t want to give the newcomers of Hyrule a bad impression of the Hylians… and then there were so many else to meet…  
Princess Zelda considered Impa’s words. They could be true. They could very well be true. Impa would not lie to her about such a thing. The Royal blood had something other Hylians did not; which was something Zelda had wondered about since forever. She could use magic, which most couldn’t. So what Impa said about the dreams was…  
Yes. Zelda decided she had to talk to Impa about this. It was alarming.  
… but Impa was very busy right now. There were recruits in the guard that had to be trained, and it was the time of the year… Zelda would hate to disturb her… and when would she herself had the time? There was so much to do… and Chancellor Marten and so many others depended on her right now… she couldn’t just cancel the meetings because of some silly nightmare now, could she? It would sound very unprofessional.   
Princess Zelda took a deep breath. She shook her head to clear her thoughts, then taking a deep breath and was determined to focus getting through the day. The dream could also be just a dream, even though this feeling of… uncertainty… was still there, very strong…  
… no. Zelda sighed in frustration.  
Today she’d let it slip. But if the dream occurred again…  
… she would talk to Impa at once, absolutely.  
Even though Princess Zelda had made a decision, she had a feeling that if she stalled it too much it would be too late.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Link keeps telling himself lies, trying his best not to hurt anyone - especially Trinnean - but when people are so supportive of him, it's difficult to keep it down.

Chapter five:

Link stood there for a while, feeling uneasy.  
He wanted to be the hero.  
This was wrong. So very wrong!!  
Trinnean was his best friend! He couldn’t just snatch his dreams away! Especially not after being so cool about this morning, and… well, always.  
But Link really wanted the hero part himself… not as much as Trinnean perhaps, but he still wanted it… how could he have lied to himself like that!? Feelings of guilt bubbled in his stomach. It ached.  
“Dude, why are you so stiff!?” Trinnean asked, still dragging him along towards the judges’ table. “Nervous? Don’t worry, you’ll do great! You and me! Hero and villain! It’ll be so much fun!”  
Link tried to smile, but it felt fake. He didn’t want to be here right now.  
“My stomach hurts”, he said. “Maybe I should go home.”  
“What?” Trinnean asked. “You sure, man? And miss out the fun?”   
He looked so disappointed. Link sighed. He could resist, but he knew that would just result in Trinnean pleading and begging… and he really didn’t want to let down his friend…  
… but was he prepared to let himself down like that? Then again, he was already feeling lousy, so...  
“Okay… I’ll stay”, he answered.  
“Great!” Trinnean replied, looking much more cheerful. “Hey, soon enough you’ll feel fine again. I know it. Just think about all the fun we’re going to have now, okay? It’s going to be awesome!!”  
Yeah. Great. Link felt his heart sinking like a rock. He didn’t want to hurt Trinnean. He was his best friend, forever and ever. He just couldn’t!  
Link looked away, but Trinnean was too excited to notice.  
”Well!” he exclaimed and let go of Link's hand. He smashed his own hands on the table in front of the Mayor. “'Sup, Uncle Bram! Such a fine day, huh? You look great today! The moustaches really match your mayoral status really well!”  
Link held back a snorting laugh. Trinnean was right. Just for the occasion, he had waxed them into huge twirls and dressed in his most frilly shirt.   
”It is indeed, Trinnean”, Mayor Bram smiled nervously. “And thank you for the compliment.” He fiddled his long, orange moustaches with his thin, long white fingers in a rather… careful and posh manner.   
Link found it amusing. Compared to Trinnean, the Mayor was an extremely tiny and weak man – he didn’t resemble his brothers, or even the rest of his family, the slightest, either, not in personality and especially not in size. Far from it.  
One could see it more clearly when his oldest brother Bo, who looked quite similar to Trinnean, stood next to the Mayor; he was big and bulky with a bald head and the massive amount of tattoos. He looked fierce, but was kind at heart – and was a great teacher, as he had taught both Trinnean and Link to fence and use weapons since childhood.  
The last member of the judging panel was a short, bearded little man called Merrick, the village elder. He was wearing a brown robe with a sash, fitting the image of a mage and the otherwise wise man as he was. Well, not that he did much magic these days, but… some small stuff, here and there, only when it was needed.  
”Well then, my boy”, the Mayor begun, almost sighing, “considering what has taken up your interest lately, you will audition for nothing but the hero, am I correct?”  
”Heck yeah!” Trinnean burst out. “Man, I've told you plenty of times, Uncle! Nothing but the hero is good enough for me.”  
Bo let out a snorting laugh.  
”Yeah, that's been hard to miss”, he said. “It's really been the one an’ only thing yah've talked ‘bout lately...”  
”But, Uncle Bo, this is important to me!” Trinnean almost shouted. “I mean, think of what could happen! Seeing the town, making it big, meeting the Princess, maybe impressing her, get a chance to maybe see if I could move to town...”  
”Yes, yes, all good, young one”, elder Merrick said with his wheezing voice. “Go stand by that rock over there, please. Your abilities will soon be tested.”  
”Ha, ha!” a spiteful Rhys laughed. “Old man cut off your narcissistic ramblings, huh, Trinnean?”  
”Ssh, Rhys!!” Lorna angrily hushed, but was interrupted by mage Merrick.  
”Worry not, my boy, you will be treated with the same kindness as well”, the elder reassured Rhys and pointed Trinnean to the rock he was supposed to stand by.  
Trinnean snickered as he walked away to the rock. The Mayor then turned to Link.  
”Ah, well, hello, young Link! And what part might you be applying for?”  
Ack! Link’s heart was struck with a quick, stabbing pain, like if the mayor’s words had been a slashing knife. He had an urge to cry… but swallowed hard and tried to push his own feelings aside.  
The hero was tempting. But that would hurt Trinnean. Link shook away that feeling. No, he would not let his friend down. He was going to apply for the villain. But just because he was in such a good prank mood, Link felt like messing with the Mayor a little to cheer himself up, so...  
“The Princess”, Link replied.  
It was worth it. The Mayor's face turned beet red; an ill fit for his orange hair.  
”Oh, my boy... I... I am afraid you are too late for that... uh… and besides, I do not believe you would make a proper fit for the role, so… uhm...”  
”Relax, brother, he's just kidding!” Bo laughed. “So what are yah really applying for, boyo?”  
Link felt… wrong, somehow, but a bit better after seeing the Mayor’s face. Now, he was more filled with emptiness than regret. Even though he knew he would regret it the instant he had uttered those words… Well, here goes, Link thought to himself...  
“The villain”, he answered, surprised by that he sounded a lot more determined than he had thought he would. He was a much better actor than he thought.  
The judges guffawed. They exchanged odd looks with each other, making Link feel worried. Had he said something wrong? Oh no, did he… say the hero after all, by mistake?  
”Wha’, really?” Bo asked Link with a disappointed tone. “With yer face and all yah really look like a hero... not evil at all... but, yer choice.”  
Oh… no mistake. Link exhaled tensely. But yes, the villain. Of course! Link exhaled and tried to be rational about this. If he starred the villain, it would give him the perfect chance to mess around with Trinnean. In spite of that dark clump of wrongness in Link’s stomach, pretend fighting each other with wooden swords would be so much fun, so it was a win-win situation, really.  
...wasn’t it?  
”Friendship before everything else, I see. How noble of you”, exclaimed Elder Merrick and studied Link with keen eyes. It was like he gazed deep into Link’s soul, and Link wasn’t so sure if he was comfortable with that. What was the man trying to find out? Link was sure he was digging for… some sort of information. With such intense gaze, he could do nothing else, right?  
When he finally looked away, Link felt a bit relieved. Still creeped out, but relieved.  
“Although”, the old man now spoke, turning his head away, “your morale hardly seems to matter as young Trinnean seems to be confident he will be chosen as the star of the show.” Merrick let out an old, wheezing laugh. “Now come with me, young man, and we will go through the basics of a staged battle before we test your true acting skills. The two of you shall be facing each other in pretend combat. Come with me.”  
Link did as he was told followed Merrick. He was nervous… but it was only a play, he told himself. Nothing important. Just try to have fun. He would have other opportunities in life, he was sure. Trinnean… maybe not as many. Link would let Trinnean have this. Okay? Link could swallow his pride. He would just focus on having fun. He loved fencing. Focus on that.  
He and Trinnean were each given a wooden sword. Link nervously grabbed it. His grip was much more tense than he thought, as the wood almost carved into the flesh in his fingers. It hurt, but it helped Link focus on the now, instead of his feelings.  
”Now, follow my instructions”, Merrick ordered them. “Be sure to follow them precisely, so nobody will get hurt in any way. Link, you go first. Do you remember how to do a proper spin attack?”  
The two boys pretend-fought each other for quite a while. For some reason, Elder Merrick had them doing very uncanny things as well, like picking up rocks (but goodness forbid that they'd throw those at each other). The mage pointed at things with his stick commanded them to do everything he asked. It took a very long while and it was very tedious – and boring. Link just wished for it to be over soon. But Merrick persisted. Basically every basic move was covered until they finally got to do some theatrics. It was so boring, that even Link almost forgot about the audition’s true meaning. But it did help him relax, at least.  
”Finally!” Trinnean cried. “Oh, I've been waiting for this.”   
Link couldn’t have expressed any better words himself. The basics were good to know and all, but dang, did they take a lot of time!  
Okay. So. This would be fun, Link told himself. No pressure. Just… do your best, and then see what happens. Okay?   
Heart still heavy, Link lift his gaze prepared for battle.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Princess Zelda arrives to the meeting with the representatives of the tribes whose lands are joining Hyrule, two massive problems appear; one of political xenofobia within the castle walls, another a strange attack on the castle town from the outside.

Chapter six

Zelda was exhausted. The meeting with the representatives of the joining tribes were about to begin, and she was expecting it to be quite the mess.  
She entered the assigned room, sighing, and hoped it would at least go much smoother than yesterday.  
There were a small group of people sitting by a bare, long table. The room had a pretty dark colour scale, with mahogany furniture and dark red curtains with a golden trim. It wasn’t very bright in there, even though the big windows let in a massive amount of sunlight.  
The people of different tribes, most of them Hylians, were chatting angrily with each other. None looked very cheerful, either.  
As the guards closed the doors behind her Princess Zelda cleared her throat.  
“Good morning, everyone”, she stated. The room went quiet. All eyes turned to her.  
“I hope everyone is doing well”, the Princess continued. “As we have much to take care of, I suggest we immediately continue where we left yesterday. Let us discuss the merchant contracts.”  
“Actually, what if we don’t”, said Brother Arko, the Goron ambassador, in a sour tone. His tiny, blue eyes didn’t look as kind as they usually did – something that alarmed Zelda.  
He, just as the rest of his kind, were huge, yellow-ish rock eating people, that reminded Princess Zelda – although she would never say such a rude thing – of big, friendly potatoes. Which were rock hard, of course.  
“I very much agree. There is another pressing matter we have to discuss before returning to the contracts”, stated a cold-toned Lady Selleene, the Pazora ambassador; a slim and elegant white-and-red-spotted fish-like humanoid creature with broad fins on her arms and a bulge on the back of her head, her nose growing into a coral that continued on said bulge. She, too, looked rather… done with everything.  
Only the hooded representative of the secret forest folk said nothing. They usually didn’t.   
Princess Zelda was annoyed. Considering that the ambassadors looked more angry than alarmed, she knew what was going on – even though she needed to be polite and ask.  
“I am sorry to hear that”, Zelda sighed. “What is the reason behind this?”   
“Your people”, Lady Selleene continued angrily, standing up now, “seemingly regard us as lesser people. Even purely stupid”, she hissed, shooting a hasty glare at Chancellor Marten and one of his assistants whose Zelda had forgotten, but she recognised him: a nervous, tall, lean man with a white powdered wig and fine wine-red jacket with an up-turned snobby-looking nose.   
“It reaaaally does”, Brother Arko groaned, he too now eyeing the Hylian men.  
“I PROTEST!” objected Chancellor Marten. He was a tiny, very round little man with dark curly hair and tiny glasses, and he sweated easily, but he still dressed finely and was always, always so very serious about everything – especially work. “I cannot listen to you outsiders bashing us like this! Us Hylians have done everything we can to welcome you into our country, and you ungrateful barbarians –“  
“There is the word”, Selleene interrupted fiercely. “Barbarians.”  
Brother Arko scoffed to add power to her point. The mysterious representative of the secret forest folk still said nothing.  
Princess Zelda agreed that Marten’s use of that very word was way too much. But even if he was quite traditional, he too had been very accepting of the plans of new tribes joining Hyrule. He had affirmed Zelda that even though he didn’t like it at first, he had come to terms with it and supported her and King Nahtus’ decision fully.  
“I am certain that Chancellor Marten did not mean that, did you, Chancellor?” she asked, angry eyes glaring his way, to make him actually apologise to these lovely people that Zelda more than anything would feel welcome. “These wonderful tribes have culture and history that will enrich Hyrule, and they will help us, and in return we can help them with anything they need – such is the contract we have written with the leaders of each tribe. Although...”  
She eyed the hooded forest person. She had not received a signature from their leader on the contract – mainly because the representative claimed that their leader was illiterate, as were they, and their ultimate leader had not the ability to write, even if he could read.  
“… never mind”, Zelda said, realising other things were more than pressing. “Please, Brother Arko; Lady Selleene, I am quite sure that this is all just a misunderstanding… perhaps some emotions from the argument you were having before I entered the room? If you do not mind me asking; can I know what that argument was about?”  
“Hmph”, brother Arko scoffed with his deep mountain voice. “Well, at least you care. To some extent. Very well, your Grace. I will tell you. So, the situation is that this man”, he began, pointing at Chancellor Marten’s assistant, “threatened to treat us like slaves if we don’t agree to his demands, and if we refuse joining Hyrule at all – which we are now very much considering, actually – he would send armies at us and make us your slaves.”  
Zelda wanted to flinch. Unbelievable! One of her court to act so… out of line!?  
“What!?” she whispered, staring at the assistant, who now was sweating like a pig. “Is… is this true?”  
“O… of course it isn’t, Your Highness!” the assistant cried out in falsetto. “This stone-man must be crazy! Perhaps their diet? Or their lack of understanding the needs of us Hylians...”  
Zelda squinted her eyes. She was no fool. This assistant, whatever his name was, had clearly no idea how xenophobic he actually was, uttering even those words. Worse yet; he tried to cover up a lie of his true opinions even though the lie was so full of holes she could see right through his words.  
“Enough”, the Princess therefore said, raising her hand. “I want you out of this room. You are no longer welcome at our meetings. Chancellor, I suggest you start looking for a new assistant the instant we finish today’s agenda.”  
“...Understood”, the Chancellor muttered, clearly not happy with the situation. He crossed his arms and turned away, sulking. He looked… extremely sour, way too much than to lose an assistant. Princess Zelda pondered this for a while before she realised that perhaps she had taken away one of Chancellor Marten’s best men. Oh, well, he would surely forgive her in time… she hoped. There was nothing else she could to right now. Not if she wanted the Union to actually happen, now that everyone was expecting it…  
Brother Arko and Lady Selleene looked a bit surprised – happy, yes, but still surprised. They had apparently not foreseen Zelda’s actions. But Princess Zelda was very serious about this union. She had worked for it so hard. She wanted everyone to be happy. That was the reason she was doing this whole giant, political project from the beginning. She believed that everyone’s lives could benefit from this union in one way or another.  
“Well, then!” Brother Arko had uttered, his eyebrows raised. “I’ll be!”  
“It is very pleasant that you are seeing this from our point of view, Your Grace”, commented Lady Selleene. “Thank you.”  
“No, I should be the one thanking you for alerting me”, Princess Zelda said. “Now, can we please continue to discuss the merchant routes and contracts?”  
Lady Selleene and Brother Arko looked like they were about to nod, but right then, the doors flung open with a loud bang. Everyone turned around.  
In came a soldier running. He was sweaty and tired and looked like he had run for his life.  
“Princess Zelda!!” the soldier gasped.  
“What is the meaning of this interruption?” Zelda asked, a bit annoyed. “I had stated very clearly that – “  
“But Princess!” the soldier interrupted. “It’s an emergency!!”  
Zelda let out a small gasp. Her facial expression softened as her muscles tensed. Oh… no.  
“… what is the emergency?” she asked silently.  
“Hyrule Castle town”, the soldier panted, “is under attack!!”


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Link and Trinnean battle in friendly manners, and afterwards they hang out, even if Link feels a bit wrong trying to be so happy, when he just wants to be... well, unhappy. As they are off to work, they know nothing about the grim future that awaits them.

Chapter seven

Link and Trinnean faced each other, staring wordlessly at each other. Gripping their wooden swords tightly now, they started to circle each other. The tension was building. The crowd silenced.  
Link felt the adrenaline rushing through his body. Oh, how he needed to get this negative energy out his system. Fighting was a great opportunity. He could do this. He really could!  
This was going to be such fun.  
”Release those maidens, you evil creature, or face me in battle!!” Trinnean shouted dramatically.  
Link fought the urge to roll his eyes and instead grinned back at his friend as evilly as he only could. Oh, it was on.  
This was… actually kind of enjoyable. Link had a great evil laugh. He was surprised to hear himself. The others looked impressed, too – even Trinnean, who chuckled and gave a thumbs up before he returned to his over-dramatical mood.  
”Vile foe! I shall be the one to defeat you and rescue the poor princess from your clutches!” he continued and readied his sword.  
Not if you fall first, Link thought and readied himself for attack. I will stop you.  
And then, as if on a signal, both boys ran towards each other, screaming, swords clashing. A wild battle begun.   
Trinnean was very focused. He stared straight into Link’s eyes, never looking away, and began thrusting the wooden sword towards his opponent multiple times; but Link was a quick jumper and evaded the attacks.  
This was going well. Really well. Link grinned confidently. Time to amp up the stylishness a bit.   
As he jumped sideways, steering Trinnean’s sword off with his own, never looking away from his opponent’s eyes, Link came up with a plan. The next time Trinnean attacked, he would backflip to avoid it.  
And… there it came! Trinnean moved his arm slightly backwards, fixed his gaze… Link crouched to jump… and he quickly shot up into the air, moving backwards, legs up above his head, breaking eye contact for only one tiny moment...  
OUCH! Trinnean hit him right in the back. Link groaned as the pain in his spine burned, but only for a little while; Trinnean had been kind on him.  
But still. Such disgrace! Link grunted. Okay, the backflip had been a stupid move.  
“Hah!” Trinnean shouted in triumph. “Take that, you foul beast!”  
Link straightened his back, locking eyes with his opponent again. He might’ve done one bad move, sure… but the fight wasn’t over yet. Oh no. Link grinned. He wouldn’t let Trinnean get away with this.  
Time for ultra focus mode.  
Never letting Trinnean’s weapon out of sight, Link began waltzing around elegantly. As the battle continued, Link evaded all attacks, while waiting for the perfect timing to get a good hit. He swung his sword elegantly and precisely and everything started to go according just to his plans.  
This infuriated the red-head. His grip around the sword handle tightened. He began to thrust harder, more quicker, and got sloppy from his frustration. But Link just evaded all the attacks, trying to keep an even rhythm. Link enjoyed teasing Trinnean like this. He was fast and gracious, like a deer on a rocky terrain, and he knew that was his strong side – and how much his friend hated him use that talent.  
“You are too good for such tricks, you mage!” Trinnean shouted. “Surrender; or I will make sure that you’ll regret not doing so, now!”  
Ooooh no. Link wouldn’t do that. Not a chance. He was in the lead now.  
And even better. While all dramatic, Trinnean had not noticed that his stance was a bit off. If Link could just go for it, he could perhaps… yes… he lunged for the leg, aiming to poke it with the wooden sword and…   
Success! Trinnean stumbled and tripped!  
He was falling, head-first towards the ground, but Link quickly grabbed his friend by the wrist and pulled him up with a smile. He didn’t want to hurt Trinnean too badly; he had lost, and Link was a bit bitter about all this; sure. But his friend didn’t deserve any real pain. Trinnean grinned back as he brushed off some dirt from his knees.  
“Alright, I admit defeat. You’ve been really training hard lately, haven’t you?” he complimented.  
Link confirmed with a proud nod; yes, he had! Instead of sitting around at home, moping and waiting for Archie to come back, he had decided to practise his fencing and riding skills to pass the time and distract his loneliness a little. Perhaps, now, he thought as aftermath, he had focused so much on letting out bad emotions he had forgotten all about his aspiration about the auditions. Or, had he really? What had he been training for, then?  
Well, anyway, now it was all over. Link felt the pressure melt away from him. He was still sad about his own situation, but at least he wasn’t bitter, nor angry. No… he had done the right thing, he was sure of that. He would get over this. Trinnean was important to him. Link could sacrifice this opportunity for him. Trinnean deserved it.  
The crowd was applauding the two boys. Whistles and shouts of joys accompanied the clapping. Link blushed and looked away. Okay, maybe he had done better than he thought. As had Trinnean, of course! Even if he looked a little… Link suddenly felt a sting of worry in his heart. Didn’t Trinnean look a little… disappointed?  
”Bravo!” shouted the Mayor, very much impressed, and everyone gave the boys an even louder round of applause – well, except for Rhys and Henny.  
Link and Trinnean bowed to the crowd before facing each other again. Link looked into Trinnean’s eyes. No, that disappointment was gone, but there was something still there, something… that made Link think that his friend must be sad, somehow, about something…  
But Trinnean seemed to pretend everything was fine.  
”Thanks, man”, he grinned and scratched his neck. “Alright, let's continue, then...”  
”Actually, that will be quite enough”, proclaimed Elder Merrick. “Thank you, young men. You may now go to work. You still have chores to take care of today, I presume. You may have been excused for the audition, but your duties still remain.”  
”Awwh, man, already?” Trinnean groaned, but gave back the wooden sword. “Alright... it was fun while it lasted, but I guess that wood ain't gonna chop itself. Let's go, Link!”  
It was over. Link exhaled. Well, he had made his choice. It was the villain or nothing. It felt a bit wrong, but also so right at the same time.  
He had avoided hurting Trinnean, that was all that mattered. Right? Time for work.  
Walking away, they passed Rhys, whose gaze seeped with vicious anger. Trinnean stuck out his tongue. Link wasn't sure, but he thought he saw the Mayor sighing deeply at the two youngster's rivalry before signing Rhys up for the hero audition.

Link and Trinnean went to the stables, which were empty around this time of the day. The stable owner, Hart, was out on weeding duty, and had left a note for the boys to ready whichever horses they liked.   
On their way there, Trinnean had been unusually quiet. Now Link definitively knew that something was wrong. He had tried asking about it, but… Trinnean had just laughed it off and said “oh, I’m just a bit tired. Don’t worry about me”. Link wondered if he had noticed that Link was feeling sad – and if that was why he didn’t talk. That… was possible, and not a very good scenario. Link utterly hoped it was something else, something vain and shallow…   
He swallowed. He didn’t want to force Trinnean to spill the beans… and he didn’t want to talk about his own problems, either. If Trinnean found out, he would hate Link, for sure… the mere thought scared him. No, no, that would be awful! He bit his lip and resisted showing any emotion. He couldn’t be seen like this. It would be shameful. And hurtful. For everyone.  
Link took a deep breath. Work. Yes, work! He should focus on that now, and prepare the horses for work. He would get to ride soon. That would cheer him up. Even more if hos favourite horse was available.  
The boys were in luck; both their favourites were available for the day. Trinnean’s favourite was named Tooh, a large, grey, spotted mare with a jet-black mane, and Link’s was Epona, the gracious but strong solidly coloured red mare with the white and luscious mane.   
As Link put the reins on Epona, she protested a little. Link snickered. She always did this. Many would’ve gotten impatient with her, but Link loved her. She was such a brat, but still a great friend. Quiet, sweet and loyal, a horse was a wonderful companion, and Link and Epona had a special bond that nobody could tear apart. Of course, Link liked other horses as well; they were so kind and fun to ride on, that they definitively were his favourite animal. Ever.  
He stroke her neck and closed his eyes, taking a deep breath, feeling the smell of horse and hay. Oh, yes. One of the best smells in the world. When Link was in a bad mood, nothing could cheer him up like this very smell – and when in a good mood, a good day only got better.  
“Man, stop daydreaming and get to it already!” Trinnean laughed and threw a hay straw at his friend. Link joined the laughter and threw one back, before he returned his attention to Epona and fixing the reins.   
“No saddle today either?” Trinnean asked.  
Link shook his head. No saddle. Bare back was the best. It felt more… natural and free that way. That, and it was much less of a bother to him and Epona, anyway.  
A little while later, both horses were prepared. The boys climbed up their backs and set out to the working site, where they had began chopping up wood two days earlier.  
“Lucky we can ride there”, Trinnean said. “I’m still in a really adventurous and heroic mood. We were so smart to prepare the wagons for overnight stay back there!”  
Link agreed, it had been a good idea. Trinnean had been smart to come up with the idea. And, he did seem to be a bit more cheerful now, too. As did Link. He would ride soon! On Epona, no less! Link felt a small, but honest smile on his face. His heart lightened, like if it was softly and slowly getting back to normal.  
“And that’s why… we should race to the spot!” Trinnean shouted and smacked his mare. “Hii-yah!”  
Before Link had even realised, Trinnean had taken off on Tooh and was metres ahead.  
This never ends. Link shook his head. Trinnean was hopeless with this. It was fun, but right now was not a good moment for it. He even suspected that Trinnean was hiding something… gah. Link felt frustration weigh down his chest again...  
No. Link had to distract himself with something fun. He didn’t feel like racing, not at all, but… a good, fast ride was always awesome.  
“Yah!” Link shouted, and let Epona accelerate into full gallop.  
Link instantly felt his mood lift. It was like his heart grew wings and feebly flapped them, but it still soared upwards, feeling so much lighter.  
Now this was living.  
His hair waved in the wind as Link let Epona run over the field, elegantly jumping over fallen tree trunks, low rocks and other things that was easy to jump, while avoiding things like larger rocks and bushes on the way. Trinnean was far ahead of him… he would brag that he had won when they arrived at the work site.  
But it didn’t matter to Link. Not this time. Horseback-riding was one of his favourite activities. The speed, the wind on his hair, the rhythmical sound of hooves hitting the ground… he loved every bit of it. Link relaxed Epona and slowed her down to a trot, enjoying the rest of the ride fully, even daring to close his eyes a couple of times on the road.  
… yes. This truly was the best feeling ever.  
“Hey, man!” Trinnean shouted as he descended Tooh, “you snooze, you lose!”  
Link just laughed in return. True. But Link never liked racing on horses, for some reason. They were meant to be… free, happy creatures.  
Gosh, his mood had improved so much. The horse ride was exactly what Link needed.  
… Trinnean could have the hero part. Link would support him. He would. He wished nothing more than for his loved ones to be happy… even if it meant Link couldn’t have what he wanted sometimes. Well, at least he had shown Trinnean who’s boss at fencing today. That was… something, right? And it had been fun. Link made a promise to himself that he would keep quiet about his wishes. At least when it came to Trinnean.  
That way, their friendship could last. And that was more important than anything.  
“Man, you’re still dreaming, ain’t you?” Trinnean laughed out loud. “Come on, lazy-pants, let’s get to workin’!”  
Right, work! Of course. Link let out an embarrassed laugh.  
Awesome. His sad mood was all gone. The play didn’t matter. Not that much. Did it…?  
No, Link decided. No such thought now. Work! So much work to do! If he worked hard, he knew he’d have a lovely evening. Link really enjoyed the feeling of relaxing in the evening, knowing he had done a good job. The only thing that could make the day better was if Uncle Archie returned today. That would make up for all the bad rush of emotions he’d had today. Link decided to be optimistic and hope for the best.  
If he only had known what soon would happen… if Link had been able to seen the future, he would’ve turned and run for his life, immediately, to warn all of Naavis.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boys work and have fun, and afterwards, Link learns that Trinnean feels very insecure as well - which could be good or bad for Link. Then, their lives change when the horses are attacked by monsters.

Chapter eight

As Link arrived at the meadow where the lumbering site was, Trinnean and Link let the horses run around freely and graze the grass to their hearts' content in the enclosed pasture close by while the humans went to work on the remaining trees.   
Not much was left of that area. The woods behind the meadow were too huge to chop up with mere axes; when Archie was back, Bo and Bryn would come assist the boys with that, bringing a gigantic lumber saw. Link wasn’t too fond of using it, but hey, it was work.  
For the current moment, Link and Trinnean were content with what they’ve done. Looking at it, Link was happy he could do something important for his fellow villagers. Everyone took care of each other. Everyone did the job they suited the best for. Link himself enjoyed all sorts of work. He was a bit of a community person – something most found silly, sometimes Link himself even did – but he actually did enjoy helping people. It was worth it. Always.  
”Man, we've worked hard! Just look, just a few left and we've secured the pine plants’ new home. Go us!” Trinnean smiled as he gazed upon their work. “I hope we can plant them soon. It’s going to be… so… green!” He swung his arms wide open, like if he wanted to hug the forest. Link let out a tired chuckle at his friend’s silly behaviour. It didn’t hurt anymore. And both seemed to be in a much happier mood. With time, Link was sure he could forget about all of what happened.  
“For now, let’s finish what we’ve started”, Trinnean said, finally relaxing. “Ey, yo, should we make this a little bit more fun. Want to place a bet? Our usual little competition?”  
Link smiled. Sure, why not. Sounded like fun.  
”Remember the rules?” Trinnean blabbered on. “Chop down as many trees as you can within three minutes. Axe only. Domino trees doubles points your for each fallen tree in the same chain reaction. Marked trees give minus points. Winner gets 30 rupees! Okay? Ready? Go!!”  
Trinnean darted off into the forest, howling in excitement. Link shook his head. Trinnean was in such a rush today! But, without commenting it, Link followed his friend’s lead.   
They chopped those trees like crazy. While Trinnean mainly focused on cutting down as many singular trees as possible, Link managed to hit a whole bunch of combos.   
When three minutes was up, they counted their points.  
”You win again, man...” Trinnean groaned. “You're just being really lucky today, that's all. But at least I won the horse race. And next time, I'll win for sure, too!!”  
Link laughed. Yeah, today did seem like a lucky day. That, or he had practised a lot…   
“I have more precision and care than you”, Link said with a gleeful smile.  
Trinnean huffed playfully.  
“More precision, you say?” The red-head mockingly raised an eyebrow. “Yeah, that’s what you’d like to think, huh? But, I give you, man, you’re right about that… mostly.”  
Link grinned. Come on. Trinnean admitted it fully – in secret, at least, Link knew that.  
“I know you believe it more than that”, he tried.  
”Perhaps.” Trinnean chuckled. “But that’s nothing I’m telling you. Alright, enough celebrating already. Help me gather up the wood! And then – lunch!”

The boys gathered the firewood quickly and decided to load the carriages after lunch. It was about time they’d have a bite! Link was feeling a bit hungry and wanted to eat at once, but Trinnean insisted that they'd walk to the other side of the Northern Hill and eat there. The view from there was quite nice, after all. And Link had to agree it was a great picnic spot. The view from there looked like a storybook: open field, with scattered trees here and there, the mountains rising in the Northwest and the Great Eastern Forest with all its plants and animals… Link loved nature. Okay, it was worth the wait for food. This time.  
When finally arrived at their spot, Link hungrily looked at Trinnean unpacking the basket he'd brought with him. The smell was wonderful! Trinnean’s parents, Bryn and Serena, were great cooks – the best in the village – and the two of them sure could whip up a feast, even when it came to everyday food, it was gorgeous. Link felt his mouth water.  
”Lookee here!” Trinnean hummed merrily. “Mum packed us both her awesome pumpkin soup and raisin bread! And apples to bake! Want some some of those, too, Link?”  
Indeed Link wanted some! While gobbling down the soup and bread, they made a fire to bake the apples in. But with that awesome, spicy pumpkin soup, Link didn’t almost need any dessert – it was his very favourite dish. It was a cascade of flavour melting in his mouth… the pepper, the pumpkin, the small pieces of goat cheese...  
”Hey”, Trinnean said, suddenly. He sounded rather… sad.  
Link swallowed what he had in his mouth and turned to his friend. He had a stern look on his face. Oh no… had he noticed?  
“Can I... ask you something?” Trinnean asked with a small, frustrated sigh.  
Link felt his teeth clench as he nodded. So, he had noticed.  
The silence that followed was uncomfortable. Trinnean was quiet for a while, until he bit his lip and sighed.  
“Uh, do… do you think I did well at the auditions today?” he finally uttered.  
Link sighed from relief a little. Oh, so it was only this. Haha… oh, dear, he avoided that one well, didn’t he? Besides, he should’ve seen this coming. Trinnean was an oblivious perfectionist, after all – almost to the brink of paranoia. But it was part of who he was.  
Still, Link bitterly admitted to himself, his friend hadn’t done a bad job. As answer to Trinnean’s question, Link nodded as confirmation and gave a thumbs up. Of course Trinnean had done great! Sure, Link had beaten him, but Trinnean still had done really well. No doubt!  
“You don’t think I went…” Trinnean doubted a little, “...over the top with the acting? I mean… and you seem, tense, too. Is there something you’re not telling me?”  
Oh dang. Oh dang oh dang oh dang. How would he save this… Link took a deep, pondering breath. Okay, focus on Trinnean. Yeah, that seemed like a good idea. It would distract him.  
Okay. Link thought just about Trinnean’s performance, trying to not get emotional over it at all. Well… it was true that he had perhaps been a bit overly dramatic, but that was part of his personality – what made Trinnean… well, Trinnean. Link would personally not have acted that wildly, then again, maybe he lacked the talent… or was it bad? Should he let his friend down easily? Then again, it wasn’t that bad… oh, Link hated making choices like this. One could never know the consequences before saying something, not like this, anyway...  
But, after a while of silent pondering, Link had finally decided.  
“It was good”, he replied. “Don’t worry.”  
”Really?” Trinnean asked doubtfully. “Because I don’t think Uncle Bram liked my improvised lines. I mean, I really got into it… and after you got your stuff together, you did so good, so, I got nervous... I'd probably won against you otherwise… and I’m sure that counts as something. Uncle Bo and ol’ man Merrick sure looked… judgemental about that...”  
Link hadn’t noticed anything. Uh… was it perhaps because Trinnean was overreacting? Even imagining it? Mage Merrick and Bo would never do such a thing to Trinnean, no matter how much he’d screw up. But that was such a rude thing to say, and Link could’ve just been busy looking somewhere else, he assumed, so...  
“Oh, sorry. I didn’t notice that”, Link replied.  
Trinnean groaned and hung his head low.  
“Of course you didn’t”, he sighed. “Man, I can feel it now. I failed. They’re not gonna pick me. Rhys is going to be the hero.”  
Trinnean let his head fall into his hand as he groaned even louder.  
Link’s muscles tensed.   
“No! Don’t say that!” he blurted out.   
Well, this wasn’t as it should be. Trinnean was perhaps a little too paranoid, and overreacting, but this was actually heartbreaking to see, considering he had looked forward to it for such a long time. Link couldn’t bear with this. Poor Trinnean...  
There was only one right thing to do. Either silent solidarity, or try to cheer him up.  
Link put a reassuring hand on his friend's shoulder.  
“You did your best”, he said. “That’s what matters. You can still be the hero!”  
With a groaning sigh, Trinnean lifted his head. He still looked sad, but not… that hopeless, at least… anymore.  
”You're right”, he admitted, albeit not sounding very convinced. “I did do my best. I can't do more than that.” He let out a tired laugh. “I’m sorry for this… I constantly overreact with these things. But this one was really important.”  
Link sighed. Yeah, he knew. That’s why he couldn’t just silently watch his friend suffer like this.  
Okay, sure, he admitted silently that he would let himself suffer.  
But not his friend. No matter how oblivious or self-centred he was today. He had waited for this day. He had looked forward to it so much more than Link, so...  
“It’s okay”, Link replied. “You were awesome, you know?”  
“Thanks, man.” Trinnean grinned, an honest, happy grin under eyes with only a speck of sadness left in them. “I needed to hear that. And so were you, in case that’s what you’re worried about.”  
Link looked away. He could Trinnean the truth… he could… but…  
“Thanks”, he replied, simply, and then said nothing more.  
The boys sat silently for a while, saying nothing. The silence was comforting. Normally, Link enjoyed friendly silence – it was a sign of trust – but today, his head was exploding with thoughts, thoughts of that he should’ve applied for the hero audition, after all, so much regret, all the regret, but Trinnean – he would’ve… he would’ve…!  
In his mind, Link saw it. Trinnean’s face, crying, asking Link “why?” over and over again. “Why, Link!? Why didn’t you let me become the hero!? It was all that I wanted...”  
Link shook his head. Such a horrible thought! He’d never do that to Trinnean. They were the best of friends and cared for each other. The mere thought of it…!  
“Well”, his friend now interrupted his thoughts, rather quietly, as if making them slowly return to reality without too much energy being wasted in the process. “This has been quite an emotional day for us both, hasn’t it?”  
So it had. Link agreed, slowly nodding. He was bursting to tell his friend about what emotions he had, but kept quiet. He couldn’t even let out a peep…!  
“Heh, yeah”, Trinnean continued with a sad laugh. “But… it was good. Thank you for listening, man.”  
Link showed a half-honest smile. Of course. No problem. He was bitter, sure, but he was even happier that he could help Trinnean.  
Or was he, really…?  
Trinnean rose from the ground, and with a groan, he stretched his arms. He seemed much more… relaxed now, somehow. Link was actually glad about that. That meant Trinnean was slowly letting go of the sadness.   
Then, maybe, the could talk about… no. Nope. Nope. Nope.  
As his friend turned around, Link saw Trinnean wearing a much more cheerful face.  
“Well, Link, all of this was good and all… but we’ve still got plenty work left”, he stated. “Let’s head back and take care of it before nightfall, okay?”  
Sure. Link was grateful to return to work as quickly as possible.  
The boys packed up in silence and started to head up the hill and to the other side of it.  
That’s when they heard a strange noise coming from the working site.  
Trinnean was the first one to react. He froze in a strange position with a panicked look on his face.   
Link felt his body stiffen. His head was turned to the working site. It was partly hidden behind trees from this view, so he saw nothing…  
… but he could certainly hear something. And that something didn’t sound good.  
”Hey”, Trinnean asked, in a weak, whispering sort of voice. “What's that noise...?”  
Link had no idea, but he sure didn’t like it. They were sounds he never had heard before. One thing was for sure; there was definitively some kind of creature there. They had red, blue and gray skins, tall, horned, and sounded like pigs… looking closer, they seemed to have snouts, and claws, too… and vicious, dangerous, glowing yellow eyes...  
Link’s heart started beating in panic. The heck!? He had never seen things like these before. What were they doing here!? They communicated through strange noises and were armed to the teeth… What exactly were they!?  
“This is bad… what should we do…?” Trinnean asked.   
Link wondered that too. He had no idea what could be down there. For all he knew, it could be one – or more – of those monsters that Archie always talked about meeting in the Wildlands. In that case, unarmed as they were, Trinnean and Link better find the horses and retreat…  
Wait. The horses!  
Link turned his head over to the pasture faster than he ever could’ve thought he could. They were fine – but some sort of hideous creature was closing up on them. Tooh and Epona started neighing in panic and galloped away, quickly, terribly afraid, from the creature.  
“The horses!!” Trinnean shouted.  
The horses?  
Link felt every cell in his body suddenly ablaze with anger.  
Okay. No.  
That was it.  
He rushed down, armed with only a random wooden branch he had found lying around, but was determined to fight whatever was down there with his life.  
If the firewood got stolen, Link could live with that.  
But the horses.  
The horses.  
Never in his life would he let them get stolen.  
He would never forgive himself for it if it happened.  
So with great determination, Link braced himself for a lot of pain and prepared to even use hos bare hands to fight if he so had to – as long as he could get the horses to safety, that was all that mattered.  
As he ran down to the pasture, the monster noticed him approach. It turned its attention to him instead. Unlucky for Link, it was armed with a club – even it was rather flimsy-looking, it sure was a better weapon than Link’s. It… scared him. But, he couldn’t let the horses be left to the monsters like this… he had to rescue them!  
When he reached the pasture, the monster was already close. Link felt a chill down his spine. Such an ugly creature! Sure, it was much shorter than himself, but… it had large ears, sharp horns, an ugly snout, blue skin and yellow eyes, like fire...  
And those fiery eyes were now set on Link. It screeched… and came running after him, weapon ready.   
NO! Link felt how panic took over his body. His legs and arms got shaky and his throat had a funny lump in it. He regretted he had ran for the pasture, but he couldn’t do much about that now. He tried to let his anger control him instead. He tried to remember what his thought was in the first place running down here in such a hurry.  
He had to save the horses.  
He started to run after Epona, trying to climb onto her back. If he could ride back to Naavis on her, Tooh would most certainly follow! The horses, however, kept running away from everything moving. Epona seemed even a bit scared of Link, as he was screaming in panic. Damnit! He had to get her!   
Please, Epona! Link thought. I’m just trying to save you!! Calm down! Help me here!  
But no. No matter how fast Link ran, no matter how much energy he put into dashing and spurting just to get close to her, it just didn’t succeed! If the monster would just stop trailing Link, he could…  
No… there was nothing he could do. Except…  
Oh, boy.  
This was going to hurt.   
Link regretted his decision immediately after he’d taken it, but by then, it was too late. He had stopped to swing his wooden branch at the monster’s head.  
The monster cried out in pain. Its cry was far from any human sound. Link had hoped it’d drop its club, but unluckily, it didn’t. It swung the weapon fiercely now, and Link was hit in the right arm.  
It hurt so bad. But at least he could still run.  
He ran, fast, but soon he felt how tired he was getting. If the fence hadn’t been so huge! Epona was a good jumper, and so was Tooh, but – this fence, it was just too high for them! The gate was open, but none of the horses were tempted to go outside, as more monsters started to regroup and head toward the pasture…  
Seeing them, Link felt his courage drop significantly. His running even slowed down a pace, and he gave up completely.  
This is it, Link thought to himself. I was stupid. This is how I die...  
But only a second later, he saw something strange.  
A mysterious cloaked person darted out of the woods, sword in hand, screamingly headed towards the horde of monsters.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zelda quickly decides to go into battle to protect her beloved lands and her honoured guests. This was not how she expected the day to go.

Chapter nine

“What!?”  
Princess Zelda stared at the soldiers. Hyrule Castle town – under attack!?  
A loud gasp went through the room. The representative of the secret forest folk panicked and started fidgeting nervously with annoyingly loud squeaks.  
“Surely, this cannot be true?” Lady Selleene asked, even if her voice trembled. Zelda heard that she was terrified.  
“It is true!!” the soldier insisted.   
“Then, who are attacking us?” Zelda wanted to know.  
The soldier swallowed hastily.  
“Monsters!!” he said. “Monsters are roaming Hyrule! We got reports by mail from everywhere… and these monsters… they’re strong, and they… they’re armed!”  
What the…!? Monsters!?  
Zelda had not heard anything as absurd in her entire life.   
“Monsters!?” she repeated, not sure if she could believe her ears.  
“Yes, monsters! Horrendous creatures that attack citizens with no mercy!!” the soldier persisted. “Princess, this is an emergency! What are your orders!?”  
Zelda blinked. It finally dawned upon her that this was real. She instantly wished that her shock would’ve gone differently – she was wasting precious seconds here.  
“Are the townspeople rescued?” she asked.  
“Yes, Your Highness”, the soldier confirmed, sounding less nervous now that he could breathe steadily again. “At least what we know of. There were not many monsters attacking the town. As of now, I am certain most have been dealt with – but we cannot be certain; some could still be roaming the streets.”  
“You are wise”, Princess Zelda nodded. “You have done well. Send out a search troop to look for remaining monsters. We have to eliminate them at all costs. I will join you soon. Let a dozen men find a safe place and set up an emergency camp for those who need treatment and aid”, the Princess ordered, before quickly adding: “and make sure to treat everyone with the same kindness and openness – no matter what tribe they originate from. If I hear anything about unauthorised acting, snobbery or bad behaviour at all from our side, they will answer to me.”  
“But, Your Grace, if the guests behave badly?” Chancellor Marten asked with a rude tone, eyeing the ambassadors of the joining tribes with a foul face.  
“Then I will speak to them together with their ambassadors”, Princess Zelda decided. “Now, please; this is not the time to be petty. Lives are at stake, Chancellor.”  
“M-my Princess!?” the soldier blurted out. “But… are you fit for battle…!?”  
“I am uncertain about that – but I cannot have my guests stricken with worry”, Zelda replied steadily. “I will do what I can.”  
“Your Grace!” Brother Arko called out. “Let us assist!”  
“Nonsense”, Zelda replied. “You are important ambassadors on an important mission. You must remain unharmed. I apologise for the unfortunate events we have to endure during your stay. Now – good day.”  
And with those words, the Princess marched outside. She was terrified, but angry. Determined, Princess Zelda swore to herself to get rid of this nuisance. She had to arm herself quickly and ride into battle herself, even if it could cost her own life. Such were politics. She could not avoid her responsibility.   
Princess Zelda felt how her body began to shake. Oh, how she wished that Impa had been here. At the moment, she was training one of her most trusted recruits in Kakariko… for some special purposes that Zelda had not yet learnt about. Oh well… there was nothing to do about it. Zelda bitterly thought that if Impa had been around, the monsters certainly would’ve already been wiped out completely.  
Princess Zelda braced herself as she quickly disrobed and put on her Royal battle suit and armour.   
This was going to be a nightmare.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Uncle Archie appears, he bears bad news - so bad, he tries to keep them a secret.

Chapter ten:

The cloaked one ran straight into the horde.  
Link picked up the pace again and started running. The cloaked one started slashing the monsters with his sword, and could seemingly defeat them without major problems.   
What a relief! Link felt a tiny speck of hope rising in his chest again. The cloaked one was on his side. He would… he had a chance of surviving! And saving the horses, too!  
With new energy, Link started sprinting like crazy. He could ignore the pain in his arm – if he only got up on one of those horses.  
The monsters outside started to die, one by one. The cloaked one seemingly took some damage, but kept pressing on. He had a sturdy shield with him that protected him from many of the attacks, except for when the monsters surrounded him. However, he took them out rather quickly as well without taking any damage. He was probably wearing some heavy armour under there.  
When the flock of monsters was defeated, the cloaked one rushed into the pasture, holding a short sword in his hand.  
“Link!” he screamed, “take this!!  
Then the cloaked man rushed towards Link, forcibly putting the short sword and a small wooden shield in his hands.  
Yes.  
Much fairer.  
Link took the sword in his left arm and faced the enemy with a new-found courage.   
This, he could do.  
The monster didn’t cower, nor did it seem to fear Link at all, even if his weapon was much stronger than its own. It was difficult and painful to move the right arm, but somehow, Link could still block the attacks by lifting the shield. Perhaps it was his survival instinct.  
As the cloaked man and Link teamed up, the monster didn’t have chance. Link grinned. As the monster was focused on him, the cloaked one could sneak up from behind and stab the monster in the back – which dealt it a great deal of damage. Awesome. The monster turned around. Link’s turn! He stabbed the monster’s leg, and slashed another couple of times very, very quickly – and it fell to the ground with an ugly wail.  
“Whew”, the cloaked one exclaimed, “that was the last of them.”  
He took off his hood and revealed his face.  
By now, Link had actually figured out who it was – as he had recognised the voice – but it felt much better to see him like this.  
His huge, round face, small, button-like dark eyes, dark, short hair and a giant, voluminous moustache with curls at the end under a potato-shaped nose.  
Archie.  
Link smiled. He felt so grateful that Archie had appeared… otherwise, he’d surely be dead by now. He fell to the ground in exhaustion.  
“M’boy!” Archie cried out and fell to his knees. “Are you alright?”  
Link exhaled, breathing out the last of stress from his body. That had been… something else. Link had never seen monsters before in his life.   
But he had survived them. He had… he…  
“Yes”, Link replied, even if staying silent would’ve been easier. His lungs were tired from heavy breathing and running.  
“Good”, Archie let out a relieved sigh and relaxed.  
The next second, Link felt the man grip his shoulders really tightly. Looking up, Archie’s face was beet-red with rage, and his thick eyebrows arched over his eyes, angrily.   
“What were you thinking!?” Archie scolded. “You could’ve gotten killed! Or even worse – they could’ve destroyed your body completely, so there would’ve been nothing left of you to –“  
Uncle Archie silenced. His eyes reflected worry and grief. Link had first felt the panic rise from his gut, seeing Archie angry like that, but now he only felt guilt. Heavy guilt, increasing by the second, weighing his shoulders down like a heavy rock. Link swallowed. It felt bad to admit it, but he understood where Uncle Archie was coming from. If Link had been in his situation, he would’ve probably felt – and thought – the very same. And the consequences, if Uncle Archie hadn’t turned up, could’ve turned out quite… well, by now, he probably pictured Link dead, or...  
“I’m… sorry”, Link managed to whisper. “I… just wanted to...”  
He silenced. Talking had always been difficult for him. He had only talked when it was necessary, and nothing else. Archie’s eyes softened a little.  
“I understand. You wanted to save the horses, right? I… would’ve done the same, I suspect. But not unarmed… or, well...”  
“YO!!” Trinnean’s voice shouted from the gate.  
He came walking towards them, with uneasy steps. He looked pale and his body seemed to be shaking.  
“Man, you’re crazy!” Trinnean gasped. Even his voice was shivering. “Are you okay!?”  
Link nodded slowly. Yeah, he were… thanks to Archie.  
“Woah”, Trinnean continued. “Archie? You were the… the… cloaked guy?”  
“Yes”, Archie nodded. “Thank you for letting me know that Link was in trouble.”  
“No problem...” Trinnean replied, rather slowly, gaze shifting to Link. “I… I...”  
He started to cry.  
“I’m so glad that you’re safe, man!” he uttered. “I mean, imagine if… what if you had...”  
“Let’s try not to think about that”, Archie stated, calmly. “It’s over now.”  
He looked over the pasture and the field beneath. The horses had galloped outside and headed for the working site, where there were only a small heap of monster carcasses left of the battle. A rather… gory sight.   
“I’ll send men to collect some of the monster’s horns and things like that”, Archie stated, rising. “We need proper saws to get them off… but for now, let’s get you two home.”

They had quickly gathered the horses and headed to collect what was left of the firewood.  
The working site was a mess. Fallen trees, neatly tied goods had been scattered around the place, as well as tools, all the weapons the monsters had held – and of course, the carcasses… Link tried to hold back a vomit. The smell was horrifying. He just wanted to get out of there as quickly as possible.  
“It would seem like we have to find another working spot for the two of you from today on”, Archie stated.  
His voice was a little tense. Link had never seen him this… upset by anything. It worried him. Archie was usually so calm and controlled. Well, he was now, too, but… different. Link didn’t like it. Not at all.  
Come to think of it, it was the first time Uncle had ever scolded him, too… it was… weird. Link swallowed. He understood. He would’ve been terrified, too, but… it still felt so strange…  
“Here”, Uncle Archie said, giving Link a much more sturdier-looking shield. “Make sure you keep the short sword I gave you, and use this shield. You should be armed, wherever you go. Trinnean, you better equip yourself, too.”  
“Yes, sir!” Trinnean saluted, and began rummaging through what the now dead monsters had left behind them.  
“Let’s collect some of the weapons before we head back to Naavis”, Archie stated. “We don’t know if there’s more of those beasts.”  
“M-more!?” Trinnean stuttered.  
Link took a quick, deep breath and felt his eyes widen. More!? No. Please, no, please. He couldn’t take it. Not today.  
Archie refrained from saying anything. He just started cleaning up the ground. Link and Trinnean slowly began to do the same, but the thought of more monsters lurking behind every corner still haunted Link’s mind for the rest of the day.

After a while of worrisome cleaning, the three went home to Naavis. Everyone was silent. Link was sitting on Epona’s back, burrowing his face in her mane, hoping she’d calm her down. It helped a little. Her familiar, horsey smell made him relax just a tiny bit, which he’d take for now. Never in his life had he gone through something that… stressful. Trinnean seemed to walk really close to Tooh, too, fiddling nervously with her mane as they went on.  
Only Archie seemed to be collected. No, not only collected…  
… angry.  
Link wondered if he should ask something, say something, anything…  
… but with his mind racing, he couldn’t think of anything. The trio stayed silent for the rest of the walk home.  
Well inside the village, Uncle Archie had turned to the boys.  
“I’ll go inform Mayor Bram about the crisis”, he grunted. “You two take those horses home, talk to Hart about this and then immediately go home. Understood?”  
Trinnean looked at Archie with fear. He had never seen the man so… angry. Neither had Link, and he lived with the man. Never in the thirteen years that they had lived together, cared for each other, Archie had even raised his voice…  
So this was a really serious matter. Link bit his lip.  
“We will”, Link promised. His voice had sounded more scared than he expected.  
“O-of course!” Trinnean added. He sounded really nervous, too.  
“Good boys.” Archie sighed. “Look, I see you’re nervous… who wouldn’t be after seeing monsters like that for the first time… but you don’t need to fear me. I just… I don’t like this, that’s all. And...” He sighed again, more deeply this time. “Look, there’s something I haven’t told you...”  
What was that? Link got confused. That… wasn’t like Archie, not at all. It was almost a bit… suspicious, even? Trinnean seemed confused, too.   
”What do you mean?” he asked, with wrinkled eyebrows.   
”Well...” Archie's face grew quickly very sad and worried. “I… was wondering if I should keep quite about this, but… it doesn’t feel right.” He sighed with a groaning sound. “You see, m'boys... perhaps... I am...” he lowered his head.  
“I am possibly the one that lead the monsters here.”  
Link and Trinnean gasped slightly. Their eyes grew worried, looking at Archie, who let out a tired sigh. He seemed a bit worried.  
“What do you mean?” Trinnean asked.  
”Monsters stalked me during my journey”, Archie told the boys, his voice suddenly very unclear. “I kept running into them in the South-western regions of Hyrule, too… they were everywhere. Although the Wildlands are inhabited by many sort of beasts, this time, there was an extreme amount of them. I mean it, they were truly everywhere. And even worse; some of them are monsters I've never seen before in my entire life, and I know the Wildlands as well as I know my own pockets. Not even in the roughest of landscapes have I encountered these before. Then again, perhaps they come from beyond the parts that humans can go… perhaps they have been hiding out in there… deep inside the dark mountain caves in that dry, inhumane desert in the Northwest, waiting for the right moment to go forth… the monsters you faced, Link, were aggressive. More aggressive than I’ve ever seen in my life.”   
Archie paused to look away. Link could see that his tiny little eyes were producing tears. It broke his heart to see.  
Link sat off Epona and walked up to his uncle, placing a hand on his shoulder.   
As he continued to speak, Archie's face grew more and more stern for each and every word. He seemed very... worried. Frightened, even.  
”These new beasts, they're powerful”, he told the boys. “And they have some sort of... darkness in them. Another kind of ruthlessness than their fellow monsters. They are... more evil. You can see it in the way they fight, as well as in their eyes. They gleam with pure ill will.” Archie groaned and wrinkled his eyebrows. “And now... they've followed me all the way back home.”  
The boys widened their eyes. Followed…? Link felt his courage drop. No way… what? Why? What...  
”A...are they after your treasure?” asked Trinnean, with a shivering voice.  
Oh, of course… that could be a reason, Link admitted. But regarding Uncle Archie, he wasn’t too sure about that.  
Archie had turned away his head and stayed silent for quite a while now, almost as if he had even… ignored… Trinnean’s question. Link furrowed his eyebrows.   
Something was going on.  
Just as he was going to nudge his uncle, Archie finally replied.  
“Perhaps”, he said, slowly. “Perhaps.”  
But Link saw the man’s doubt in his eyes. It alerted him instantly. Something was up. Something really bad.  
The next second, Link got a confirmation for that. Alright, he wasn’t too sure, he could’ve heard wrong. No… no, he was certain. Even though the old man was trying to hide his frustration, it was clear as day. Link was sure he heard Archie mumbling something… something about “war”.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zelda realises her dreams were reality - which would mean that Hyrule is in complete and immediate danger.

Chapter eleven

Zelda equipped herself with the sharpest spear she could find; a silver Pazora one, a gift from Lady Selleene. Funny. When Princess Zelda had received it she had wondered when she ever would use such a dangerous weapon. And now, it proved its necessity so soon.  
This… was war.  
The Princess thought about getting a horse out, but realised it would be more of a drag than use in battle – especially since the battlegrounds were the town’s streets.   
“I am prepared”, she announced to the soldier that had delivered the message.   
“Good. Then please, Your Highness, follow me. I’ll take you to the Captain. If necessary, he will help you escape”, the soldier explained.  
“That will not be necessary, for I will participate in battle”, Zelda decided.  
“Oh, but...” the soldier silenced, seemingly not knowing what to say. “I… see”, he said after some silence, turned around and started walking towards the town. Zelda followed him.  
He was trying to keep his cool, but Princess Zelda saw the pearls of sweat on his forehead, and the soldier was shaking – yes, shaking like an aspen leaf. She suddenly felt sorry for him.  
“What is your name, soldier?” she asked in a soft voice.  
“Marcus, your Grace”, he replied.  
“Marcus”, the Princess repeated. “Thank you for alerting me.”  
“I was only doing my job, Princess.”  
They continued in silence. Princess Zelda followed private Marcus out into the courtyard. Her body stiffened for each second that went by. She hoped the disaster would be minimal. Oh, why would this have to happen!? Especially when she was so stressed out over so many other things… but… she couldn’t escape, even if that was the Captain’s wish. No. Zelda was a regent, the head of Hyrule; she had to protect her people, not just stand by and be the damsel in distress.  
Besides, she was very well capable of fighting if she had to. The grip around the spear in her hand tightened. Zelda felt her teeth clench. It felt like they could break from the pressure any minute.  
They continued to the castle gates leading out to town.  
“Ah, here we are”, Marcus said. “Captain Hector! I have brought Her Highness with me as you requested!”  
“Private!” the Captain called out. “Thank you, but it seems like we have averted the danger for now. Our best men are still hunting the remaining monsters; they aren’t many, but they can’t get away from us. The enemies were only a handful.”  
“Oh… that’s… lucky”, the Princess said, grateful and relieved, but at the same time annoyed that she had taken the time to prepare for battle. Oh well, nothing to be done about it. “How is the damage of the town? Are any buildings destroyed? Any people harmed?”  
“We successfully rescued everything, except for one man who broke his leg, Your Highness. My men are looking for other potential survivors, but there should be none, if we’ve understood correctly”, the Captain reported. He eyed Zelda with a critical look. “However, Your Grace, even if I appreciate the effort and your intent to fight, it would’ve been much safer to escort you away… without the King or General Impa present, we cannot take any risks – especially not considering Your life, Your Highness...”  
“That does not matter”, Zelda interjected. “If I wish to battle, then battle I shall. But I am grateful and relieved you have already handled the matter so well. Do you mind if I join you for a while? I would like to see with my own eyes that my people – and potential guests – are unharmed, before I return to my meeting with the ambassadors.”   
“Of course, Your Highness. Please, follow me”, Captain Hector replied courteously. He seemed honestly neutral to the matter – his face didn’t even change the slightest when Zelda mentioned the ambassadors. That meant she could count on the Captain – unless he was a good actor. But… that wasn’t a possibility, right? She had to check everyone. After what happened with Chancellor Marten’s assistant, Zelda no longer had doubts there were traitors among her own people – oh, and she already suspected Marten so very much now… but that had to wait until later. Zelda just hoped that he would leave the ambassadors alone while she was away. Unfortunately, she had a bad feeling in her gut. One that told her that she should return to the castle immediately…  
“Well”, she said out loud. “I shall not be long; I will do a quick check-up on the gathered survivors and then return to my meeting with the ambassadors and secure the Union of Hyrule.”  
“Do so, Your Highness”, the Captain bowed. “Thousand of apologies for the inconvenience; especially as calling you out here was completely unnecessary and time-wasting.”  
“So it was”, Zelda muttered under her breath. “Well, thank you for alerting me nonetheless”, she said, louder, trying to sound as polite as she could; for it was something she would’ve liked to know at once, after all. And she did want to see her people safe.   
Not that she didn’t trust the Captain – but for her own sake. She had enough stress and nightmares already. She didn’t need another uncertain and worrying factor in her head. Speaking of her head… it felt like it was about to explode… it was throbbing, aching, and, Zelda was sure, screaming – figuratively, of course – for rest. Just one minute, or two… oh, why wasn’t Impa here with her when Zelda needed her the most?   
Then, there was this other thing still bugging her.  
“Please tell me this, Captain; why are the monsters attacking our town?” she asked. “It is so strange that monsters – beings we have not encountered before in all of Hyrule – just suddenly appear and ravage our home. Where did they come from? Who sent them? Did they come on their own? What is their goal…? Any thoughts?”  
“Good questions, Princess”, the Captain bowed again. “I must confess; I have pondered about this myself and not reached a conclusion. I will see to it that the matter is investigated. This is, as you say, strange. It’s a mystery… they just appeared out of nowhere. There have been rumours of those wishing to attack the throne, but… those were humans – or other humanoid creatures. But monsters? Never heard of.”  
“What did they look like?” the Princess wanted to know – in case they were describing people from other tribes.   
But hearing the words describing the monsters made Zelda freeze where she stood. The very first word made her heart stop.   
“Pig-like, in manners and their faces”, Marcus said with a shivering voice. “But they are more like trolls or ogres, well, otherwise. And the sound was...”  
The Princess felt unreal. It… it couldn’t be real… Her body stiffened from alarm. Panic rose.  
“Screeching and blood-freezing”, Zelda thought before private Marcus finished his sentence, uttering the very words:  
“Screeching and horrifying. It was like if your blood could turn into ice hearing it.”  
Zelda stiffened even more. Her muscles locked themselves into an uncomfortable position.  
“Princess?” Captain Hector asked. “Are you unwell?”  
Princess Zelda didn’t bother answering, for she had not heard the Captain’s queston. Her mind was racing.   
Pig-like… and screeching, blood-freezing sounds… That was like the clouds in her dream. The ones surrounding that greater cloud – the ones attacking the town!!  
She felt like throwing up.  
“Okay, try to calm down...” she tried thinking to herself, looking all around. There had to be something she could do to avert a panic attack… right!?  
She couldn’t show this before her people – especially not the Captain. What would they think of her!? She had to keep her pride spotless. The shame would be too much to carry… and she could frighten them so… no, this… this could not happen!  
“I… I a-am...” she stammered.  
Oh goodness. She hoped her fright didn’t show too much. She swallowed and tried again.  
“I… I am fine, Captain. Th… thank you very much. I would very much like to see my people now, if you do not mind.”  
Captain Hector looked suspicious, but private Marcus looked very much afraid himself – but very sweet and kind.  
“Of course, Your Highness”, Marcus replied. “Now… if the danger is over, allow me to escort you back to your meeting room. I’m sure the ambassadors are eagerly waiting for you to restart the meeting. After all… we all so much look forward to this union.”  
The Princess regarded the soldier’s face. He looked honest. Her intuition was telling her that Marcus was a good person, through and through.   
“Ah… yes. Th-thank you, Marcus”, Zelda replied, trying to keep calm. “Then, let us leave.”  
Marcus bowed and took the lead. As she followed the soldier back into the castle, Zelda couldn’t stop thinking. Her head was spinning in ultra-rapid. There was so many strange things going on. Chancellor Marten’s assistant, and Marten himself was acting rather fishy as well, and now the monsters, and her dream…  
… this was becoming way too much for Zelda to handle. She felt like she would break at anytime by now. She hoped she could cope. It would be such as shame if she, the only representative of the Royal Family present in the Castle right at this moment, would give in to stress. She could not do it! She had to protect the pride of her family – and herself, too. But mostly, her family. The ambassadors and her people could not see Zelda weak. She wouldn’t allow that.  
But she couldn’t handle this alone. That much the Princess had to admit to herself.  
“Is… is there something wrong, Your Highness?” Marcus asked worriedly.  
“Oh… oh!” Zelda blurted out upon realising that Marcus had noticed the pressured atmosphere. “Oh, no… just… just many things to take care of, I am afraid, but nothing I cannot handle.” She tried to give him a reassuring smile. “Rest assured; this Union will be the best thing that has happened to Hyrule in ages. And with plenty of men investigating the monsters and their case, I am certain that everything will turn out well in the end.”  
“Oh… of course. Sorry to bother you, Your Grace.” Marcus blushed, almost looking ashamed.  
“Nothing to worry about, Marcus”, Zelda said, trying her best to sound calm.  
It worked. Marcus turned his head frontward and kept on walking. Zelda let out a relieved sigh.   
Nobody could see her worry. None at all.  
The Union was stressful, sure. But what bothered Zelda right now was the monsters in her dreams – and the ones in reality, that seemingly were so very alike… but she couldn’t be sure. She hadn’t seen those with her own eyes – just the dream ones.  
But still…  
Zelda bit her lip. She tried to tell herself that this was just a coincidence, but… she wasn’t available to convince herself.   
Impa was still in the mountains with that recruit… but… this was an emergency. Then again, perhaps Zelda could handle this…  
No. The Princess shook her head.   
As soon as she could, she had to contact Impa.   
This was something far too dangerous to handle on her own. Something was threatening Hyrule, she was certain of that. And if she didn’t act soon…  
No. Princess Zelda didn’t even want to think about the consequences. Hyrule was most likely doomed already. Better not to think about the worst case scenarios.  
She had to get help. Immediately.


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Zelda checks up on the townspeople, most seem to harbour ill will towards her. Zelda gets confirmation that her dreams were an omen in the most gruesome way possible.

Chapter twelve

“Your Grace?” private Marcus said. He waved his hand in front of her face.  
Zelda jolted in shock.  
“Oh! Apologies!” she uttered. “I… I was in… thoughts...”  
She expected private Marcus to shoot weird looks at her. But instead, he laughed.  
“No worries, Your Highness”, he said. “It would seem that You have a lot on Your mind right now. It’s fully understandable that Your mind wanders. It would seem like You need proper rest. You overwork Yourself way too much...”   
Princess Zelda regarded the soldier. He looked rather honest and worried. Like if he really was troubled by her being too stressed out.  
“I… I can do this, Marcus”, she said. “Thank you for worrying; but there truly is no need for it. This is nothing I cannot handle.” She tried showing a smile. “See? I feel fine.”  
“Alright”, Marcus replied, not looking too certain. “Well… I am about to open the door to the survivors now, if it’s fine by You, Your Grace?”  
Ah, yes… the survivors. They had apparently been stored away in the town library. A bit cramped, perhaps, but a good choice. It was one of the sturdiest buildings in the entire town.  
“Of course”, the Princess replied merrily. “Do go ahead.”  
Private Marcus nodded and did as he had been told and opened the double doors to the great white building of stone.  
In the library, it was dark, but still quite orderly. People had gathered in clumps between the bookshelves, talking to each other softly. Those who were a bit braver than others whispered comforting words to those who needed it, hugging the crying ones, some sweetly singing ballads of heroism from long ago. Volunteers were handing out food and blankets.  
“Oi, look!” a man shouted and pointed. “The Princess is here!”  
The crowd silenced. Everyone turned their heads to her. Suddenly, Princess Zelda felt so extremely nervous.  
“Oh… greetings”, she began, her voice shaking a bit. “I… I am glad to see that you are all safe and sound in this dire time of need.”  
“The soldiers did well”, an old lady commented. “The beasts were few in number, but strong… but it wasn’t enough to harm even this old hag.” She let out a triumphant laugh.  
“So I heard”, the Princess said, feeling an involuntary smile from her own lips. The old lady amused her – or, Zelda was just tired and in need of something relaxing and funny.  
“You’re dressed in armour, Princess”, a little boy pointed out. “Did you fight the monsters, too?”  
“I did not, child”, the Princess informed with regret, hoping that the citizens wouldn’t hate her for it. She sat in safety in her castle this whole time as they were attacked, and she already – well, in some way – knew of the attack, but had not realised it…  
“That was yet to be decided”, Zelda thought to herself, calming down before saying out loud: “But I will help the men clean up the streets before returning to my duties in creating the bond between the joining tribes and us.”  
Somehow, the room became extra silent. Everywhere, faces were staring at her with either neutral or hopeful expressions…   
… or disgust.  
“Well”, she said. “I shall not be long. I am just here to say that if you, any of you, need anything, please alert my men, and they – or I, personally, even – will see to it that you shall get it. I suspect none of your homes were destroyed?”  
“None, Your Grace”, Marcus whispered to her when nobody replied.  
“Well, then”, the Princess smiled. “As your regent, I am proud of you. You’re good people, and brave, surviving such a horrible trial.”  
“Will there be more monsters?” a little girl asked. Her face was red, as if she just had been crying. Her eyes were still in tears, Zelda saw, as she looked closer. Her heart broke.  
“No. I will see to it that you all will be safe”, the Princess stated, seeing the girl’s hope slowly return. Princess Zelda lift her gaze and looked around the room, continuing much louder: “I will see to it that there are armed men at every castle gate, and that there will be emergency camps for those who need it. If you have any suggestions, please feel free to voice them. All ideas are welcome in this hour of need.”  
“There is something I’d like to suggest”, a woman voiced, slightly icily.  
Princess Zelda had bad notions about this.  
“Yes?” she asked.  
“Send those barbaric strangers back to their homes!” the woman now shouted, standing up. “I will not be of the same country as any of those… weird… non-humans! What if they, too, attack us!?”  
Zelda felt a clump of darkness forming in her stomach.  
“Now, now, let us not...” she begun, but was interrupted by an elderly man:  
“Yeah! They look like monsters, too – how can we trust them!?”  
“Please, calm do--” Zelda tried, but some old lady shouted:  
“You idiot! They’re kind people! I’ve spoken to them! They’re normal people, just like you and me!”  
“How do I know that!?” the old man replied. “They could very well be murder machines under that facade they present to us! They pretend to be civilised, but the moment we let their territories within our borders, I swear, they’re going to ruin us!”  
“Are you daft!?” a young man shouted. “They’re going to stay in their own homes, just like you and me! It just makes things for merchants and travellers and whatnot easier, nothing else will change!! Besides, they too are the people of the Sacred Goddesses – perhaps even more than we are!”  
“You don’t know that, boy!!” the first woman screamed.  
And then, everyone started to shout and argue. It got rather heated in there. So many angry people…  
Princess Zelda froze in place. She watched in horror as people started fighting each other, with some calm-minded civilians and soldiers trying their best to settle the problem down.  
“Um, Your Highness”, private Marcus wheezed, “I think it’s best we leave...”  
Princess Zelda didn’t know what to say. She just nodded and followed him outside.   
She was in utter shock. Her people… her own people! They… she couldn’t believe this. No! She had thought the Hylians to be so sweet and nice and welcoming, and then… this… happened…  
“Uh, Princess?” private Marcus asked.  
“What?” Princess Zelda looked at him with apparently empty eyes, for he said:  
“Your Grace, I understand that you… did not expect this… cacaphony”, Marcus tried. “You… look as pale as a ghost. Is there… anything I can do for You?”  
Princess Zelda blinked a few times before shaking her head.  
“Oh, no… thank you, Marcus”, she said. “Um… well. I suppose I will fulfill my promise to my people now and go clean up the monster corpses… but… I really should return to the library and calm down my people. I started this mess, I should be the one to settle it…”  
“Princess Zelda”, private Marcus said in a stable voice – but slightly cautious. “Um, if I may voice my opinion?”  
“Oh – do go ahead?” the Princess said, a tad confused.  
“My comrades and some of those civilians are quite skilled. It was not You who started this. It was that foul woman. If you go in there, you will worsen the situation – for them and for yourself. You already look stressed out enough.”  
Princess Zelda wanted to laugh. So it was that visible, after all! Here she had hoped that nobody had noticed how overworked she was…  
“But, if you still want to, Your Grace, I can take you to the monster corpses and we can start cleaning up. Although I suspect there are men at it already.”  
“I still want to do what I can to help before I return to the castle”, Zelda stated. “I feel like I have caused more damage than good, so… I need to do something…”  
Even if it is just for myself, Zelda thought quietly to herself. She had to put her mind to rest. Some physical work could perhaps help. It usually did.  
Besides, she had to check if those pig-monsters were the same from her dream. Hopefully it was just a coincidence. It… had to be, right? Or maybe she had just imagined she had dreamt it?  
No… she still had a clear image of what those cloudy pig-monsters had looked like…  
“Please, take me to the monster corpses”, Zelda whispered. “I… I will do my best to help.”  
“Very well”, private Marcus stated. “Please follow me.”  
He started to walk. Zelda followed.   
Her mind was spinning. Her own people, such ill-mannered and evil individuals? Well, just some of them, but still… she had actually believed that there wouldn’t be that much resistance… not to mention so much prejudice and false accusations…  
Private Marcus suddenly stopped and cleared his throat. Princess Zelda jolted back to reality.  
“Here they are, Princess… corpses of those horrendous monsters that attacked us.”  
They were lying on the town square, just slightly to her left. Princess Zelda was afraid to turn her head and watch. But somehow, automatically, it was drawn to the body; like if there was a force somewhere inside her that wanted to be certain that this had no connection to her dream.  
She was wrong.  
The monster corpse lying in front of her did not just look very much alike the cloud monsters in her dream.  
It was an exact copy.


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Uncle Archie is acting weird, and he's still hiding something. Link and Trinnean feel anxious after the monster attack.

Chapter thirteen

“War.”  
Link wasn’t sure he had heard right. It could be anything, Archie’s mumbling was unclear. But he usually didn’t mumble to himself like that, and he looked so… panicked. Link didn’t like this. He bit his lip and wondered if he should say something. Anything.  
”Yo”, Trinnean suddenly said. Apparently he hadn't noticed Archie’s worry. “I think we should get the horses back home. They've had enough action for today, don't you think?”  
“Yes, go, take them home”, Archie replied, rather quickly. “I’ll go talk to the mayor about this.”  
“Okay, but… can you ask him something from me as well?” Trinnean pleaded.  
“Sure. What?” Archie said, his voice sounding tired, like he was done with this.  
“I was wondering… with this now going on… what about the results from the auditions?” Trinnean asked. “I mean, I understand if… things change now, but… I’d still like to know, so...”  
Link sighed. Trinnean’s vanity was something he could live with, but today, he hardly wanted to think of a stupid play for some stupid Union Day.  
“I’ll ask”, Archie replied shortly, with a nod. “Now, go.”  
That’s when Link noticed the limp. But Archie kept marching on.  
“Link, my boy”, Archie suddenly said. “Promise me to go straight home after you’ve returned the horses. I’ll be there shortly, too.”  
“Okay”, Link promised.  
Of course. As long as he didn’t have to be alone right now.   
“That’s a good idea. Home...” Trinnean began nervously. “I… really hope my family gets home soon, too… I don’t want to be alone right now…”   
Trinnean was shaking. He really was. With his right hand, he was gripping his other arm tightly. Link noticed that his nails were piercing the skin. Dang, Trinnean must be nervous. Link didn’t like how everyone was so worried… it was understandable, he was, too, but…  
“If… if not, I’d like to stay with Link for a while. If it’s okay with you, of course, Archie”, Trinnean added, quickly.  
“Hm”, Archie said, doubtingly. “Sure. But if they are, give my regards to Serena and Bryn.”  
He turned to Link.  
“Just be home before dark, Link. And always have the sword ready. We don’t know if there are more monsters around.”  
And so, without even bidding good-bye, or a “see you later”, he limped off towards the Mayor’s house. The boys stared at him and couldn’t tear their eyes from his leg.  
“Do you see it?” Trinnean asked. “Archie… is hurt...”  
Link swallowed and nodded. He had seen. And it worried him. Archie’s back was already bad… if he was even more damaged, then… no… Archie could be severely hurt, he could be bleeding without showing it, he could be dying…  
No, silly, Link told himself. If that was the case, he would’ve noticed it. Right? Link tried to stop thinking about it, but the thoughts kept popping right back into his head.   
He smashed his head into Epona’s neck and buried his nose into her mane, breathing in her scent. Try to calm down, Link, he told himself over and over again, try to calm down…  
“Hey, what are you doing, man?” Trinnean asked. He sounded a little… weirded out.  
Link could say that he was checking if Epona was bleeding… or he could tell the truth.  
“Her smell calms me down”, he told Trinnean. “It… helps.”  
“Oh.” Trinnean’s face returned to his resting one. “I see.”  
The boys said nothing to each other the entire walk to the stables. This was unusual. Link was used to Trinnean blabbering away about everything and anything, and himself listening to the endless chatter, laughing along…  
“Sorry”, Trinnean suddenly said.  
Link raised his eyebrows.   
“What?” he asked.  
“I mean… I’m not as chatty as always.” Trinnean looked away. “I… can’t right now.”  
“It’s okay”, Link replied. It really was. He was just unused to it, that’s all.  
“… if you say so.” Trinnean slumped his shoulders and started petting Tooh slowly. “Oh!”  
Link jolted in surprise. What?  
“She’s got a wound!” Trinnean exclaimed. “It’s… not big, but deep! We should hurry!”

The boys reached the stables within minutes. They were lucky that Hart, the stable-owner was there with his teenage son Kael, tending to the horse boxes. Father and son looked very alike; both tall and slim with wavy, black hair with blue eyes – even though Kael had a bit tanner skin and freckles after his mother.  
“Oh, welcome back”, Hart greeted, his “but why here so soon? Don’t you have –“  
“Monsters attacked us!” Trinnean shouted before the stable-owner could even finish his sentence. “And Tooh is hurt!”  
“Wha…!?” Hart dropped his pitchfork and the hay on the floor and rushed up to her, Kael in tow. “My goodness! She is! Kael! The med-box!”  
“Yes, papa!” Kael shouted and ran into the storage.  
As Hart took out a napkin from his pocket and began examining the wound, he asked:  
“Monsters, you say? But… how is that even possible? Why…?”  
“We don’t know for sure, but Archie think they followed him here”, Trinnean said. “So...”  
“Hum”, Hart replied. “How unlucky. Are they all gone now?”  
“For now”, Link said.  
“Yeah, but Archie thinks there might be more”, Trinnean added.  
Hart took a deep breath.  
“Such terrifying news, such terrifying news...” he muttered to himself. He sounded strained and angry. “I will need to start locking the barn at night, and sleep here...”  
“I’ll join, papa!” Kael chimed in, coming back with the first aid-kit.  
“Hum”, Hart said. “Okay. Tell your mother and the baby, too. We should set up a temporary bed here or something...”  
“Um...” Link uttered.  
Father and son, as well as Trinnean, turned to him.  
“Um...” Link said again. He had never been good with words. “About Epona...”  
“Oh, goodness, you’re right”, Hart said. “Kael, tend to her, please.”  
“Of course, papa.” Kael came up to Link and Epona, taking her reins. “Don’t worry, Link; she’s a tough one. She’ll be over this soon enough.”  
“Okay. Thanks.” Link dared to smile slightly.  
“We should go, Link”, Trinnean said, suddenly grabbing his friend’s right arm – very tightly, right where the monster had hit him. It hurt. Link gave Trinnean an annoyed look, but Trinnean didn’t notice. He looked… anxious.  
“Yeah, we should”, Link replied through gritted teeth.  
“Be careful, boys”, Hart said. “Thank you for returning the horses so quickly.”  
“No problem”, Trinnean said, hurrying out of the stables, dragging Link along.  
“Bye!” Link heard Kael call as they exited the front door.  
“What is it!?” Link asked Trinnean.   
Trinnean let go of Link’s arm and turned to his friend with a horrified look on his face. Link immediately regretted asking – or at least sounding so… annoyed. But it hurt…!  
“Oh, sorry”, Trinnean said, looking at the bruised arm. “I… I didn’t even notice… I...”  
Link sighed.  
“It’s okay”, he said. “Let’s just get you home. I can tell you need it.”  
“Yeah”, Trinnean replied. “I… do. Thank you.”  
“Trinnean? Link?” a voice called out.  
Link turned his head to its source.   
Kaylia.  
She stared at the boys for a few seconds before rushing up to them.  
“My goodness! Are you two alright? Why are you looking so sad? What happened!?” she asked.  
“It’s… a long story, Kaye”, Trinnean replied with a shaking voice. “I… I can tell you at home.”  
“Sure, absolutely”, Kaylia nodded, turning to Link. “How are you doing?”  
She looked genuinely worried – and Kaylia would, without a doubt, become a mother hen if Link told her the truth.  
“I’m fine”, he therefore replied.  
Kaylia pouted.  
“Liar”, she said, “but I understand that you want to be left alone. It’s okay to be hurt, Link. I can see the pain in your face… and on your arm.” She glanced at it. The bruises had spread, and his arm was now entirely black and blue. She shook her head.  
“Whatever happened, I’m glad that you’re safe,” she said and took his hands. “I know that you tend to rush into dangerous situations sometimes… but please… don’t do it again.”  
Link felt the warmth of Kaylia’s hands in his. It felt… nice… and…  
“Anyway, sis, we should head home”, Trinnean interrupted. He didn’t sound as worried now as before… perhaps a bit… mad, even?  
“Okay”, she agreed, letting go of Link’s hand. “But first...”  
She rummaged through her skirt pocket and produced a small glass bottle.  
“Here”, she said, handing it to Link. “A healing potion. I always keep one in handy if needed.” She showed a sad smile. “I… rarely need one. So go ahead, take it.”  
Link took the bottle from her hand. It was warm, just like Kaylia’s skin.  
“Let’s go home now, please, Kaylia? It’s been a really long day”, Trinnean sighed and started walking away. He seemingly started to process the terrifying events, energy crashing, because he looked extremely annoyed and tired. He glanced over his shoulder, thrusting his head towards Link, looking him straight into the eyes with – well, Link thought he looked… rather… worried and annoyed at the same time, like he had a lot to say.  
But whatever was on his mind, Trinnean didn’t say it. At least not out loud.  
“See you later, Link”, he stated, simply. “You heal up good now, you hear?”  
“Yeah”, Link nodded. Of course.  
“Well, I’m leaving now, Kaye… please…?” Trinnean sighed as he started walking again.  
“Okay. I’m coming.” Kaylia showed Link one last faint smile before turning around and sprinted up to her brother.  
Link stood there for a while, looking at the two. His eyes lingered on Kaylia for a while. It was nice of her to offer the bottle. Sweet, kind Kaylia.   
Link suddenly realised he was smiling. He blinked a few times in confusion. What? No, no. He… didn’t like Kaylia in that way… did he?  
Well, he didn’t know for sure. But he did know that something more now was upsetting Trinnean. Perhaps it was not the time to find out now – as Trinnean seemingly just wanted to go home… and… let Link heal in peace… wait. Could he… be… protective of Kaylia or something…?  
Link shook his head wildly to shake the thought. Nah, it couldn’t be true. Besides, Link didn’t feel for her that way.  
Not what he was aware of, at least.  
He sighed to himself and uncorked the glass bottle. A sweet scent rose from the bright, sparkling pink liquid inside.  
With one swift move, Link chugged the entire contents with one gulp. It tasted slightly like strawberries and cream.   
Immediately, he felt the pain in his arm disappear a little – not all of it, but enough for him to notice. He smiled a little.   
Link gazed upon the stable area one final time, watching how Kael and his mother carried out mattresses from the house into the stables and left.  
The walk home felt long. It was a short distance, but it sure didn’t feel like that today. The thoughts stayed in Link’s head.   
He could’ve died. He was careless. He could’ve died.  
Sure, Archie came to save him, but now he was hurt from that…  
The entire walk, Link battled with those thoughts. Well home he went straight to bed. He just wanted to sleep and forget about everything… and hopefully, when he woke up, everything would be back to normal again…  
He closed his eyes and hoped for the best.  
That was all he could do for now.  
Oh, how he wished that Archie could come home soon.  
With that thought in his mind, Link finally fell asleep, only to dream a lot of horrifying nightmares, where pig-like monsters attacked him, wielding sharp blades and spears.


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zelda gets support from the other tribe representatives, but Chancellor Marten is up to no good, and his plans to ruin the union succeeds with nearly fatal outcomes.

Chapter fourteen

“Princess Zelda?” private Marcus asked. “You look… even worse than moments ago.”  
Zelda didn’t say anything.  
“Princess?”  
She didn’t move a muscle. She kept staring at the monster carcass in front of her. Even though it was completely harmless   
“See? I feel fine”, Zelda proclaimed.  
Private Marcus shoot worried looks at her. He seemed unsure about if he should agree or disagree with the Princess. She realised he was afraid to do her wrong.  
“No need to worry”, she assured him with a smile. “I can see in your eyes that you care. I appreciate that. If something happens, I will see to it that you walk free. None of this is your fault.”  
That seemingly helped private Marcus relax a little. His shoulders sunk and his face looked more relieved – but he was still shooting worried glances at the Princess.  
Suddenly, she turned. Beyond the corner was a commotion. Loud voices yelling, a feet rushing towards… them!  
“Get behind me, Your Grace!” Marcus shouted, but Zelda prepared her own weapon.  
“No need to worry about me”, she said through clenched teeth, “I can handle this...”  
And the next second, whatever was behind that corner, came forward.  
It was not what neither Zelda nor Marcus had expected. It was a group of people. Among them were a few of the castle guards, as well as Brother Arko and Lady Selleene. All were armed and looked extremely alarmed.  
“We… we decided to join the battle...” Brother Arko panted. “We couldn’t just stay behind, all cowardly while you fought for us, Princess...”  
Princess Zelda exhaled. She was a bit annoyed, but relieved it was only them.  
“I appreciate your thoughts, Brother Arko”, she replied.  
“Oh, it was Selleene’s idea”, Arko admitted.  
“Then, thank you, Lady Selleene”, Zelda bowed her head towards the Pazora, armed with a spear similar to the one the Princess had been gifted.  
“No need to fight all battles alone, Princess”, the Pazora replied. “We will gladly assist you…even if we were late in this case.”  
“You had no need to assist me at all”, the Princess insisted. “You are my honoured guests. As your hostess, I wish to protect you. I am happy you wished to help me; but please, I do not want you to risk your lives for my land’s problems.”  
“Our problems”, Selleene smiled, “as we will soon be of the same territory.”  
“And we will fight by your side, no matter what, Your Grace!” Brother Arko chimed in. “Unified we will stand!”  
Zelda felt a ray of hope in her heart. It would seem that the plans she had for the Union still was in no danger after all.  
“Thank you”, the Princess whispered, feeling herself smile honestly. “That brings so much joy to me, hearing that.”  
“Nothing to worry about”, Brother Arko stated. “I’m touched to see, Your Grace, that you care so much about us and let us just stay here, in safety, while you head out. Was the town saved already? You haven’t been gone for long.”  
“Yes”, the Princess affirmed. “Captain Hector’s men had already taken care of the monster problem. However...”  
She silenced. Yes, the pig-monsters worried her – and it was nothing that nobody has seen before. Everybody would be worried to see such a thing…  
“I am glad to see that nobody got hurt. At least physically”, she whispered the last sentence to herself.  
“Well”, Lady Selleene stated, with a smile in pure honesty “I am very relieved to find you alive and well, Your Grace. Although you do look like you need some rest… or rather, a couple of days to recover. Did something… happen?”  
So it was that obvious. Lady Selleene saw through Princess Zelda’s act.  
The Princess tried to swallow the rising nausea. She closed her eyes and tried to block the images of the monster with green fields, pretty flowers, a blooming land, the sun setting in the East...  
“OOOOII!!” someone, probably a soldier, shouted from not too far away. “Marcus, come here! We need your help! We just rescued the postman! He’s in bad shape! We need to take him to a doctor immediately!”  
“Oh my!” Marcus jolted. “Well…” He turned to the Princess and bowed. “If that will be all...”  
“Ah, of course”, Princess Zelda said. “Thank you very much, Marcus. Send my regards to Mr. Hare and tell him I wish him a quick recovery.”  
“Yes, Your Highness”, Marcus bowed, saluted, and so he was on his way. Zelda watched him disappear behind some slightly damaged houses.  
“Well, Brother Arko, Lady Selleene; I propose we return to the castle”, the Princess said. “Let us continue our meeting...”  
“On one condition”, Brother Arko said.   
His face turned stern. Zelda stiffened. She sensed that he was about to say something she would not like.  
“Which is?” she asked, her voice breathy.  
“Dispose of your Chancellor”, Lady Selleene said, simply, “and we can continue or dealings in peace. Otherwise, we will return to our homes as soon as possible. We cannot trust that we are safe here. Not with that man and the monsters around us.”  
Zelda took a deep, tense breath. She had somehow suspected this would happen at some point. Well, to be fair, the Chancellor had been troublesome a couple of times, too, but she had overlooked them, believed them to be honest mistakes… but after today…  
“I will discuss this with him as soon as we return”, she said. “Let us leave immediately.”

Zelda kept her word. When she returned to the castle, she asked Brother Arko and Lady Selleene to go wait in the meeting room as she summoned Chancellor Marten to her office.  
He appeared, severely annoyed.  
“What is this, now?” Marten asked. “I do hope you bring good news, Princess? This has been such a stressful day, I cannot even begin to distress how pained I am! Even if I heard the town took minimal damage and the only one who was injured – if we dismiss the traumas, but those are the effects of weaklings, anyway – was the postman. The monsters seem fast… and they are apparently everywhere!”   
He opened his arms dramatically and sighed. He sat down on the chair facing Zelda and turned to her with a tired expression.  
“Well”, Zelda began, not sure how to get the message across. “Uh… Chancellor Marten. The… what I need to tell you is...” she took a deep breath. Marten had been loyal to the Royal Family for a very long time. Usually, Zelda would not take such a decision without consulting with her Father. He would have done just the same if he had been facing this matter.  
But it was an emergency. All their hard work was at stake.  
“Chancellor Marten, as of today you are dismissed from the Union affairs”, she stated, simply, looking at her desk, not believing she had uttered those very words with her own mouth.  
Then, carefully, as if she was afraid she had done something bad, the Princess turned up her gaze.   
Chancellor Marten was staring at her with an empty expression on his face.  
“I am… what?” he whispered.   
“Dismissed”, she said. “You are free to continue your other duties, but as of today, I will appoint another representative for the Hylians considering the Union meetings.”  
“But… you can’t… who…!?” the Chancellor’s face turned beet red. His tiny little eyes gleamed with anger. “Have you listened to what those beasts said!? I tell you, Princess; they are nothing but savages! They are far from refined as we are! Their cultures are barbaric! Their forms are barbaric! Honestly, I cannot understand why you or His Majesty insist on being friendly with these… these… creatures!!”  
So it was true. Zelda’s heart sank. Chancellor Marten opposed the Union.  
Well, honestly, it wasn’t that much of a surprise. But somehow, Zelda had wished, even if it was futile, that the Chancellor was just… careless, and not as bluntly xenophobic.  
“Well, seeing as you are not fond of our work, I cannot see why you should still be a part of it”, she stated, irritated. “Please leave immediately. You may keep your chambers here in the castle for now. When Father returns, I would not count on you staying with us much longer.”  
Chancellor Marten inhaled quickly. His face had taken a dark red colour. “But –!!” he began, screaming.  
“NO”, Zelda almost felt herself shouting, every fiber of her body angry. She had been through so much already today, and would not take more of this. “Leave, Marten. Immediately!”  
The Chancellor stared deeply into her eyes. There was a fire in them. Zelda stared back, determined, just as angry – if not even angrier.  
Then, Chancellor Marten’s mouth twitched.  
“Just you wait, Princess”, he threatened. “This is not the last you hear from me.”  
And with those words, he rose from his chair and left.

Princess Zelda returned to the meeting room. Lady Selleene and Brother Arko were discussing something with the representative of the Secret Forest Folk, who just answered rather shortly to everything. As Zelda entered, they silenced at turned to her.  
“Well?” Brother Arko asked.  
“It is done”, Princess Zelda confirmed. “Chancellor Marten will no longer be joining us.”  
“Thank you”, Lady Selleene said, her face immediately lightening up. “This means so much to me and Arko. And our secret friend, of course.”  
“I am just happy to help my guests”, Zelda replied, having a much better feeling about where the day was going. She needed it after all the horror. Perhaps she could even have a pleasant evening, chatting away with her guests?  
The double doors opened. In came a servant, carrying a tray with fine porcelain.  
“Tea, Ladies and Gentlemen?”  
“Yes, please”, Lady Selleene said. The servant served her and poured a cup of something that smelt divine. Zelda asked for a cup herself.  
Lady Selleene closed her eyes and sniffed.   
“Such a lovely odour!” she complimented as the servant was pouring Zelda a cup.   
“Isn’t it, Milady?” he said with a smile. “It is made from Hyrule’s finest herbs; Silent Princess and pardon the odd name, Hyrule Herb.”  
“It is quite an odd name!” Lady Selleene laughed.  
Zelda lifted her cup and closed her eyes. Oh, tea. How much she loved the calming smell of it… the warmth… the safety.  
“Well, then”, the Princess smiled towards Lady Selleene and jokingly rose her cup. “To our future.”  
“To our future.” Lady Selleene smiled and retuned the gesture. She then let out a pleased sigh and took a first sip.  
Then, immediately, she started to cough. Her eyes got wide and teary.   
“Lady Selleene!” the Princess shouted, rising, prepared to assist her guest.   
Lady Selleene didn’t reply. She fell to the floor, still coughing. Her scales turned white, and her pupils widened. That’s when Zelda realised that the Pazora wasn’t choking on her drink.  
“MEDIC!” she shouted. “I need a doctor! A nurse! ANYTHING! PLEASE HELP!!”  
“Yes, Your Highness!” the servant, nervous and pale, obeyed and immediately rushed out, screaming for help.  
Princess Zelda crouched by Lady Selleene’s side, taking her guest in her arms. The Pazora was panting and huffing, wheezing even, as if her throat was stuffed. She started coughing desperately and her eyes grew completely black.  
Zelda tried to pound her back, to get out whatever was stuck in her throat. But it didn’t help. Lady Selleene just looked irritated – no, angry. She opened her yellow eyes and turned her huge pupils towards… the door way.  
“You… you did this…!” she wheezed between the coughs.  
Zelda turned her head. There stood Chancellor Marten, regarding her with spite, no, it was more like disgust.   
Then, he scoffed and walked away.  
“YOU! …. You… p-po….poisoned! … me…” her words grew weak and crackling. Her stomach grumbled and vomited. Princess Zelda desperately tried to think of something to do, anything!  
“You… foul… beast!!” Brother Arko raged at Marten, running after him. “I will get you! And when I do you will regret ever being born!!”  
“Brother Arko, please!!” Zelda tried, while still holding Lady Selleene. But it was too late. He ran after the Chancellor without any mercy.  
“Uuugh… Princess…”   
Zelda turned to her guest.  
“Yes!?” she asked. “Do not worry; we will fix this… somehow...”  
“I… hope… so….” Her body suddenly felt much heavier.  
Lady Selleene collapsed.  
“Milady!!” Princess Zelda shouted. “Please stay put!”  
But Lady Selleene responded no longer.


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The knowledge about the monsters upsets all of Naavis, and Link gets the surprise of a lifetime.

Chapter fifteen

When Link woke up, it was close to sundown. He was in a bad mood – not scared, but… fidgety and irritated, which was odd considering how his dreams had been. In those, monsters had kept attacking Naavis, as well as Archie, Trinnean, and even Link himself, killing them off in one, swift move…   
Link’s cheeks were tense and his eyes felt puffy. Sure, he had slept and not woke up, but… he would’ve preferred waking up and finding himself safe in the real world.  
Where monsters were just a potential threat.  
No, stupid thoughts. Link sighed and sat up in his bed.  
Archie was lying on his side in his own bed on the other side of the alcove. He slept soundly, snores echoing in the little space they shared.  
Link felt relief seeing him so normal after all the events – and the nightmares where he died, over and over again, and Archie died, too… no. Link shook his head. He didn’t want to think about that.  
On his bedside table, Link found a note. 

“Link, my dear boy!” it read. “Naavis is safe for now. There will be nightly and daily patrols around the village to keep it that way, so don’t worry. Everything is going to be okay.  
On another note: Mayor Bram will be announcing the roles just before nightfall and put the results on the bulletin board. Head home the instant you’ve found out – but bring a weapon with you, just in case. Also, Serena gave us some healing elixirs. Be sure to drink one before you head out.  
\- Archie.”

Link glanced at the kitchen table, where a bunch of glass bottles containing differently coloured liquids were neatly put. He could do with another potion. His arm was still feeling very off. Rest helped, sure; but the pain would not stop.  
Link walked up to the table and chose a bright red one. It smelt like… nothing, compared to the one he had received from Kaylia. Drinking it, Link felt not much of a flavour, either – slightly tangy, but otherwise tasteless and just… gelatinous in texture.  
But it did help him a lot – instantly, at that. Link felt his arm healing almost completely. It was amazing. Link stared at his arm, moving it, and was astonished he felt almost… nothing. Seriously, wow!  
He was still unhappy and annoyed, though. The monsters had destroyed the good groove he and Trinnean had worked up so much earlier. All he wanted to do was to go back to bed and sleep until he forgot about everything about it...  
No… Link still wanted to find out the auditions went. The sun was just about to set – in one hour, it’d be dark. He should hurry.   
Equipping himself with both the stolen sword and shield, as well as his own trusty bow he made so long ago together with Uncle Archie, Link headed out into Naavis.

The bulletin board was located right outside the house Mayor Bram shared with Bo. Link had never understood it’s purpose that much, as the village was small and most people met every resident at least every other day, and information spread quickly that way… but Mayor Bram’s pride was bigger. He wanted Naavis to be a perfect little place, doing every sort of organising one could ever need in a tiny little village like this – which is why people agreed to call him Mayor in the first place. Besides, Lars the shopkeeper could always freely use the bulletin board to announce special prices and remind people when certain products were available. That, Link admitted, was rather handy to have written on a certain place.  
Arriving at the spot, Link saw all the village youths had gathered around the board. Henny, Conrat, Kitty, Lorna, Lisa, Lara, Kael… all of them, eagerly trying to push the others out of their way so they could look at the result list.  
Someone Link knew had apparently made it all the way to the front.  
”NO WAY!!” he heard Trinnean's voice shout in surprise.  
And shortly after:  
”THIS IS IMPOSSIBLE!!”  
That voice wasn't Trinnean's – but Rhys'. And he was angry.  
Rhys fought his way out of the crowd, sputtering things like “out of my way” and “get lost!”, among other nasty things.   
When finally out of the crowd he walked straight up to the mayor's window.  
”You up there!!” he screamed. “I demand to know why I am cast as the villain!”  
”Well, uh”, the mayor replied from his window. He grew silent.  
”Did you hear me, you sissy little weakling!?” Rhys yelled.   
”I am so sorry, my boy”, said the mayor from inside his house. “B-but you are most fitted to play an elegantly caped evil magician, especially with your sense of drama – and with that face of yours!”  
”My face!? What of it!?” spat Rhys.  
”It looks... so...” the mayor whimpered.  
”Listen!” Rhys screamed. “I don't care what you think. This...!” he pointed at his own face. “This is the face of a true hero!! Now re-think those results, or I'll...!”  
Bo, who lived in the same house as the mayor, exited his house. He looked really sick of the situation.  
”Now, boyo, don' ya think ya'd better calm down?” he asked.  
”No way!!” Rhys spat. “I demand to...”  
”Yeah, yeah”, said the big man and simply. “Look, 's like this. We judged from performance an’ from looks, from the way people move an' sound – ya happy? Doesn't matter if ya applied to something else. This’s what we think is the best. This’s our choice. Stick with it or drop out.”  
“I refuse”, Rhys insisted, gritted his teeth and prepared to punch the old man – but Bo got to him before it and calmly just stopped Rhys, seemingly with no effort at all.  
”Okay, thassit.” Bo had had enough. With an angry grunt, he – like if Rhys was light as a feather – lifted the poor confused boy and walked away with him. “We suspected this, so I've prepared yer costume for ya to go.” Bo took out a package from his pockets and forced into Rhys' hands. “Take it an’ leave. Don' let me see yer face around mah house anymore today. Besides, it’s lights out soon. Didya read about the monsters?”  
“Uh… what now?” Rhys asked in confusion, as Bo slowly put him down.  
“Oh, yeah, Bram, ya should tell the kids about the monsters roamin’ around”, Bo said, turned to the Mayor, who was shivering, cowering behind his windowsill. Bo sighed. He looked clearly annoyed as he turned to the house, cupping his hands at the sides of his mouth. “Oye, Bram!!”  
Link heard worried whispers spread among the crowd of youngsters. Many looked each other in the eye with alarmed faces. “Monsters?” they said. “Here, in Naavis?” “No, that can’t be… can it?” and other things, sounding very insecure… and very afraid.  
“I… I know I should!” Mayor Bram shouted out in falsetto. “I just… I just… it is just such bad news!”  
“Uncle, you should be better at this”, Trinnean sighed, his head leaning against the board. Link saw this clearly; Trinnean was much taller than many of the other youths in all of Naavis.  
“I… I know. I apologise”, the Mayor said softly. “Uhm… okay, please, young ones, please, listen up. This considers your, as well as your loved ones’, safety. Something is… happening. Something really, really… uh, bad. I am not certain if you all have heard it, but...”   
The youths silenced and turned their heads towards the Mayor. Link saw Lorna go grab Rhys’ arm and he sweetly stroke her hair. Damn. Seeing it made Link felt bad for Rhys. He had a heart, after all… of course Link already knew it, but… he had never seen it so clearly before. Now he was hugging Lorna, who silently wept as the Mayor continued announcing the news:  
“There are, unfortunately”, he said, with a shaking voice, trying to keep it stable, as he rose, straightening his back so everybody could see his full figure, “monsters roaming around our areas...”  
“Monsters!?” Clareesa, Lorna’s older sister, shouted. “What!? When!?”  
“Earlier today”, the Mayor continued. “They attacked young Link and my own nephew Trinnean; they stole some of our goods, as well as trying to steal the horses… if not Archibald had turned up, both horses, and more importantly, our boys would have been...” the Mayor’s voice trailed off, head hanging low. Link felt his pain.  
More than his pain. He could’ve been the first one to… to die.   
Link swallowed, a big, black lump of anxiety, and tried to hold back his tears. He had to thank Archie when they got home. Link never even did that, had he? How shameful… after all that had happened, he hadn’t even done that…   
“Well, anyway!” the Mayor cleared his throat and rose his gaze, “we will hereby declare a curfew! I know Naavis has been a safe place even at night; but for now, we cannot take any risks! Always walk armed, even in daylight! Please, if you can; do not stray outside the village borders, and if you absolutely must; take a few adults with you. That… is all… I am afraid.”  
The youths nervously started shuffling around. Many looked panicked, and confused; Link understood. None of them were used to curfews, They were used to Naavis being a safe place, even from wild animals in the middle of the night. Even young Kael now, too, looked like he was about to cry, even if he knew before, as did Conrat’s little sister, Antonina. Most of the time, many people would rush to comfort her, as she was an adorable little girl, truly cute as a button… but this sort of crying... Conrat held his sister close as she wept into his sleeve. He tried to keep a straight face, but the bad news were getting even to him.   
“Do not worry! Us adults are dealing with this!” Mayor Bram tried to calm them down.  
“But let this not affect the play we do for Union Day! It will be a grand ceremony as King Nahtus and Princess Zelda create the new Hyrule, unifying the tribes of West, South and South-west to our lands, making them citizens of Hyrule! I will see you all here in the morning, at nine!”  
And with that, the Mayor closed the window and retired into his home. The crowd started buzzing with small talk as it slowly, but steadily, split up and everyone started heading home.  
Rhys approached Link with a spiteful look on his face.  
“Well, congrats, or, whatever”, Rhys spat at Link.   
What? Link raised his eyebrows. “Congrats”… for… what, exactly?  
“Honey!” Lorna sighed, but her face was more worried than annoyed.  
“Oh… yeah… you… you did do good, I suppose”, Rhys mumbled quickly, before turning his head away.  
Link regarded them with confused eyes. What the heck…?  
”Hey, man!” he Trinnean’s voice shouted from behind.   
Link turned around to see his friend, at his sister’s side, both looking at him also with a rather puzzled expression. That made Link even more confused.  
“Guess what”, Trinnean begun. “You won't believe it...!”  
Link let out a zealous gasp. Did Trinnean make it!?  
“You won’t believe this, man!” Trinnean shouted. “Come quick!!”


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lady Selleene is rushed to the medical quarters. Zelda loses it completely and is engulfed by darkness.

Chapter sixteen

Lady Selleene had been rushed to the palace medical quarters. She was unconscious, but still breathing – even if her breath was alarmingly light and irregular.  
“No worries”, the Doctor, a short man with giant glasses and a giant, gray hairdo, had stated upon arrival. “With my latest machine, I can stimulate her breathing… she should be just fine, but still unconscious, until I find a cure… if I find one before it’s too late, that is.”  
Those last words sent a chill down Princess Zelda’s spine. This was not something she had expected… now she was back into constant panic mode. What to do, what to do, what to do!? If Father had been around, he could’ve helped…  
“I’m so sorry!!” the servant who had brought the tea apologised. He had done so over and over again for the last hour. “I had no idea… I don’t know who slipped it into the tea!”  
“I believe you”, Zelda sighed tiredly. “I do not believe that such a nervous person like yourself would be the culprit. Especially as we have a prime suspect already.”  
She scoffed and looked away. Chancellor Marten. That bastard.  
“This is not good”, Brother Arko stated shortly. He had joined them in the medical chambers after losing Chancellor Marten somewhere – after all, it was a huge castle and the Goron was not used to it. Arko looked rather tense; his mouth was a straight line, his small blue eyes stern and worried.  
“How fast can you determine what she was poisoned with, Doctor?” Zelda asked.  
“That depends on Chancellor Marten’s co-operation”, the Doctor simply stated, using a small lantern to look into Lady Selleene’s earholes, trying to examine every cavity she had on her face. “And how fast I can learn how to cure a Pazora. Never had a patient of any other kind than Hylians before… but I suppose antidotes and poisons should work the same way… since the breathing machine does. I wonder if I can stimulate the gills, somehow...”  
“Please, do everything in your power to help Lady Sellene”, Zelda begged.  
The Doctor looked at her with a calm expression.  
“Don’t worry, Your Grace. I am on your side. You can trust me.” He turned back to his patient. “You’’re lucky you brought her in so fast… a minute more without breathing, and she would’ve been a goner...”  
Oh goodness. Zelda wanted to vomit hearing those very words. No! Lady Selleene couldn’t die! Not after…  
And that Chancellor Marten! He… he…!!  
The room started to sway. Princess Zelda tried to keep down the nausea. She felt how her head slowly got lighter and lighter. Her vision got blurry. Her legs became seemed to lose the power to stand… the world seemed to be spinning… and she felt like throwing up even more now, immediately, her stomach was like a dark, messy heap of knots… it hurt. Oh, how it hurt...  
As if in trance, Zelda closed her eyes and her leg stopped moving in mid-air. She tripped over her own leg and fell forward…  
She landed on the floor with a thud.  
“Princess!?…” she heard the Doctor’s voice. Then, alarmed: “Princess!!”   
Zelda tried to reply. But the words seemed difficult to form and nothing but meaningless gibberish was uttered from her lips. She felt so heavy… and it felt like life itself was slipping away from her, she was fading away from reality…  
Brother Arko lifted her, but Zelda felt limp and lifeless. Moving her body, any part of it, was impossible. Everything was so heavy, and she was dizzy… and drowsy.  
Could the poison have affected her, too? After all, she had smelt her cup of tea. Not drank it, but… perhaps smelling it was enough.  
Yes… the more Zelda thought about it, the more sense it made. The poison was affecting her, too. After all, what else could it be?  
“There is no chance for Lady Selleene”, Zelda thought, “and not for me either...”  
She felt life slipping away from her… she was so tired…  
“Princess!?” she heard the Doctor scream, and the servant panicked completely. But Zelda couldn’t see them anymore.  
“So this… this is how I die...” Zelda thought to herself. “I...”  
And then, everything became dark.


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Link is oddly satisfied yet saddened. Trinnean, however, is depressed, which makes Link feel guilty.

Chapter seventeen

What the heck!? Link couldn’t believe his eyes as he read the results announcement. His jaw had dropped. How was this even possible!?  
”So, then, Link… congratulations as being chosen to star as the hero!” Kaylia exclaimed and clapped her hands. “I say, well done!”   
Link still couldn’t believe it. Him – the hero!? He didn’t even… what!?  
“It must be a mistake”, Link said.  
“Nu-uh”, Kaylia stated, shaking her head. “Trinnean asked why.”  
Hearing that, the red-head slumped his shoulders, turning his head away silently. Link felt a crack forming in his heart. He hated seeing his friend like that. When Trinnean acted cool, he usually wasn’t cool with something.   
“Why is it, then?” Link asked.  
”Yes, I’d like to know that, too. I thought you didn't audition for that?” Rhys sneered. He and Lorna came walking up, arm in arm. He was still playing with her hair. Link secretly thought it was cute.  
“Honey, please...” Lorna mumbled silently, clearly done with everything, wanting just to go home.  
Kaylia showed a diagonal smile – not looking that happy or anything, more like an… ironic or fact-stating kind of smile, really.  
“Heh, considering that Rhys tried out for the hero and got cast as the villain – congratulations, you’re going to do great as that, considering that the villain is much more dramatic than the hero...”  
“Told you”, Lorna mumbled, peeking up. “You’re going to be the star of the show.”  
Rhys blushed a little, looking away, saying nothing, but Link saw him smile ever so faintly. He truly was adorable… in some screwed-up way. Lorna truly brought out his best sides.   
“Anyway”, Kaylia continued, “it would seem that our dear judges… well, judged on overall performance first rather than wants and needs for a certain part. And as Link looked truly heroic and did his part perfectly, and the judges was mostly impressed with his fencing and fighting skills, one thing led to the other and… yeah, here we are. So… congratulations, Link!”  
She smiled, and Link smiled back. Trinnean let out a loud sigh.  
”Well, might as well be you, if anyone”, he said. “Guess who's gonna be the princess.”  
Link froze for a moment. Then he realized who.  
”My, my, brother!” Kaylia sighed playfully. “As gentlemanly as always, aren’t you just?”  
”Well, they made a good decision!” Lorna let out an honest chuckle, her worry melting away a bit. “Since you got chosen, of all people, I really can accept my defeat! Just promise me I can help out with accessorising your princess gown!”  
”Thank you, Lorna!” Kaylia's face beamed with pride and joy. “I’d love to!”  
“I’m looking forward to it already”, Lorna smiled. “I already have a few ideas...”  
Trinnean groaned. “Yeah, whatever...” he said, putting his hands into his pockets, tapping his feet slowly at the ground.  
Link let out a sad sigh. The crack in his heart grew and almost split a piece from it. He really hated seeing Trinnean like this.  
“It don’t need to play the hero”, he said. “Look, I’ll ask them to change their minds.”  
“No, don’t”, Trinnean replied, looking somewhere far away from Link’s face. “It’s no use bothering...”  
”Awh”, Kaylia let out, with a saddened look on her face, “please, brother, don’t be sad! You did your very best! And there’s no shame in that – you’re great anyway, you know that, right?”  
”... I did”, Trinnean admitted and let out a very deep sigh. “I really did. Oh well. Link is not half bad, either. Especially after today...” his face went a little pale. He looked down, loudly clearing his throat.” So. I guess I'll accept my defeat, too.” Trinnean let out a tired laugh, suddenly looking more relaxed – or like he could cry any minute. “And I guess I get to see the real Princess anyway, since Uncle Bram said I could come with you guys and help out, so...”  
”That's the spirit!” Lorna cheered with a tired voice. “Look, Trinnean, I know it’s hard to see it on days like these, but you’re an awesome guy – today you survived a monster attack, right!?”  
Link groaned and closed his eyes. Why did she have to mention that? The shocking surprise had made him almost entirely forgot about all those alarming emotions. Now they came crawling back into his mind…   
“Link was in way more danger than I was”, Trinnean pointed out quietly.  
“That doesn’t matter. What matters is that both of you survived!” Kaylia shouted. “Brother, how can you say such a thing!?”  
“Please!” Link shouted out loud. “Please… I don’t… want to...”  
“Oh. Right. Sorry...” Lorna looked away. There was an awkward silence.  
“Look”, Lorna said. “I didn’t mean to say something upsetting. I’m sorry. I’m glad that both of you made it back alive and all. I heard about your arm, Link. Is it better?”  
“Yes”, Link nodded. “Thanks for the potion, Kaylia.”  
“I’m glad it helped”, she said with a smile, “though mum’s usually are more effective...”  
Link nodded slowly. Yeah… but both helped him to recover quickly, so it didn’t matter which one was more effective. He was just grateful for the help.  
“Hey, Link – you’re going to be a great hero”, Lorna said, “After today’s bravery, there’s no doubt. I really do hope you can recover from this mentally soon as well.”  
She nodded towards him. Link nodded back and showed a faint smile. He knew Lorna meant no harm.  
“And Trinnean”, the girl continued, turned to him, “we’re both going to rock as helpers. I’m sure that the Princess definitively would like to talk you, because you have so much positive energy to spread. You’ll make her crack from all your jokes within a few minutes, I swear! She’s going to love them.”  
Trinnean said nothing, but he laughed softly and nodded slowly, looking much more encouraged, actually. Link felt so much gratefulness for her – and yes, he agreed; Trinnean’s jokes would crack up anyone! The Princess was not going to bother about some random actor, at least not that much, was she? Genuine people were probably much better at leaving lasting impressions, that Link was certain of. Thinking of that eased his anxiety a little bit and he let out a quiet laugh. Imagining Trinnean and a member of the Royal Family fraternising was too much.   
“Don’t encourage them too much, dear.” Rhys rolled his eyes.   
“Right, they’ve got you as competition as well”, Lorna smiled. “You’re going to be the best villain they’ve ever seen. Your acting skills are amazing, darling! You’re going to steal the show completely. I know you will – I saw you audition today, and I’ve seen you practice. I believe in you. I always have and I always will.”  
Rhys smiled softly and petted her head. “Thanks”, he whispered.  
Lorna gave a bright smile in return.  
“It's getting late”, she said. “We should get home before dark...”  
“Yeah”, Rhys nodded.  
“See you guys tomorrow!” Lorna waved at them. “Get home safely, okay?”  
“Absolutely! See you then!” Kaylia waved back with a smile. “Good night!”  
The trio stared at them silently for a while, watching the couple disappear into the shop, arm in arm, cuddling with each other on the way.  
”Man, sometimes I don't get how she ended up dating Rhys”, Trinnean sighed and shook his head. “Well, each to their own, I suppose. If it makes her happy...”  
“Are you… crushing on her?” Kaylia whispered all big-eyed.  
“Gods no!” Trinnean blurted out. “I’m just saying… she… deserves someone way better than… you know… Rhys.”  
“Well, he always treats her well, so… she must be able to get his good side out, or something, I suppose… but I admit, I do wonder how th–” Kaylia begun, but was interrupted by a fourth person.  
”Link, Kaylia?” the Mayor's voice called.  
They turned around. Mayor Bram walked down the stairs from his home on the top floor, approaching the ones he had called out to, holding two brown paper packages.  
”Here are your costumes”, he said. “True replicas of the hero's clothes and an ancient royal gown, made by the finest seamstresses in Hyrule Castle Town. Take good care of them, and please wear them for tomorrow morning's rehearsal! The play might be short; but we are also short on time, so we need to be prepared as quickly as possible!”  
“Of course”, Link nodded.  
“I will be here first thing in the morning”, Kaylia promised.  
”Very well”, grinned a nervous Mayor Bram. “Now, then. I am extremely sorry, Trinnean. I know how much this meant to you...”  
”No worries, Uncle”, Trinnean said softly, trying to hold back a sigh. “Link was the best, after all.”  
Mayor Bram let out a relieved sigh.  
”Thank you for understanding”, he said. “I was worried you would feel... hurt. Especially after today’s events, I thought that… well… but before that, we had already decided, you see… and...”  
”Nah”, Trinnean laughed it off. “I... I can accept defeat.”  
The Mayor showed Trinnean a heartfelt smile.  
”I am pleased to hear that. You are truly a good lad”, Mayor Bram complimented. “You will grow up to be a fine man.” He put a hand on Trinnean’s arm with an encouraging smile. “Well then, children, if that is all, I bid you good night.”  
”Good night, Uncle Bram!” Kaylia and Trinnean replied in chorus.  
They saw the Mayor walk away and into his house, looking very relieved.  
”That was quite honourable of you!” Kaylia complimented her brother. “But I know those eyes. I know what you think, you can’t pretend with me, not for long. But that aside – Trinnean, believe me – you are not worthless.”  
”How did you know?” Trinnean replied with a weak voice.  
”I just know you that well, big brother”, Kaylia laughed. “And, believe me, your skills will be an asset to us all in other ways. You can help Link figure out heroic poses, can you not?”  
Trinnean let out a “hmm”, but said nothing of any proper meaning.  
Link patted his back, trying to cheer his friend up. He wouldn't mind some help with posing at all. Trinnean looked up and smiled.  
”I guess you're right”, he said. “I can't sulk forever. Well, then! Best of luck to you two! I'll help you out, man. I'll do my best, too! Promise!”  
The three of them nodded simultaneously, to seal the promise.  
”Oh, everybody else left already”, Kaylia suddenly pointed out. “The sky is growing dark, too... should we all head back to our homes before nightfall?”  
”You go. I'll catch up with you”, Trinnean said. “Link, I need to show you something. It’s nothing bad, okay? So, no worries, it’s no sad thing or something like that! And I promise you will get home before nightfall. That okay?”  
“Sure”, Link nodded.  
He was relieved that Trinnean wasn’t mad at him. From what it looked like, the red-head seemed to think he was… inferior to Link, somehow. Link would’ve hated that.   
“Well, good night, then”, Kaylia said.  
“Good night”, Link replied, and she left.  
”Come”, Trinnean said and ran ahead. “Let's climb those trees over there! You're gonna love this.”   
Link was bewildered. What was it Trinnean was going to show him? He knew where he was going – to a place that was important to both of them – but…  
Oh. That.  
Link followed. That could only mean Trinnean had something important that he wanted to tell Link about.  
Something very important.


	18. Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zelda wakes up in her bed with Impa by her side. She tells Impa about the dream, gets scolded, and realises Impa might have hidden motives to take the most severe actions as soon as possible - which probably not is a good sign for the sake of peace.

Chapter eighteen

Zelda opened her eyes.  
She felt… off.   
“Princess Zelda?” a familiar voice said.   
“Mmmyes?” Zelda replied. Her voice was much weaker than she expected.  
“So you’re awake”, the voice continued. “How are you feeling?”  
Zelda blinked a few times and tried to focus her gaze. The view was still blurry and she had a massive headache.   
She saw the silhouette of a person sitting on a chair next to the bed Zelda was lying on. The room seemed familiar, yes, it was Zelda’s own room, she was lying on her own bed… and the person sitting next to her was a middle-aged woman. As Zelda’s vision got clearer, she saw that the woman was a tall and muscular one, with tan skin, white hair with shaved sides, dark ninja-style leather suit and piercing red eyes...  
“Impa!” Zelda blurted out in joy. “You are back!”  
“Yes.” Impa smiled slightly, warmly, motherly, quite happy to see Zelda so delighted.  
But you…” Zelda began, “you were in the mountains, and...”  
“Returned home as soon as I got word of the monster attack. They are all over Hyrule – and the lands closest to us – right now.” Impa’s face turned stern. “King Nahtus has been alerted as well. He has been requested to immediately return from his scouting journey.”  
“I hope Father will return home soon, then”, Zelda nodded. “I have to thank the ones that sent the message.”  
“Not a problem, Princess Zelda”, Impa nodded. “You need all the support you can get. There is much to deal with right now, and even if you are more than capable, this is far too much to handle alone.” Impa clicked with her tongue in frustration. “And, I hear there has been other problems here, as well...”  
“Oh, yes… Lady Selleene...” Zelda whispered to herself. “And Chancellor Marten! That vicious man!” The Princess felt the blood rush to her head. “When I get my hands on him...”  
“I’ve already interrogated him”, Impa said calmly. “He was innocent. He has an alibi.”  
“WHAT!?” Zelda almost screamed the word.   
She jumped out of bed, but Impa pushed her back.  
“Princess Zelda! You need rest!” she scolded. “I can see that your body is weak from stress; and you already fainted once!” She sat down back in the chair with a deep sigh. “Something is troubling you. Tell me your worries. I’m here for you, you know?”   
Zelda regarded Impa. So she was.  
After losing her mother as a child, Zelda had only ever had Impa as a maternal figure. A very good one; no complaints there, but having a Sheikah soldier – a supreme one, at that – as a surrogate mother meant no secrets.  
“But how is Chancellor Marten innocent?” Zelda asked, before Impa had a chance to ask what had caused Zelda to faint.  
“Turns out he was complaining and ordering around poor castle maids to pour him a ‘stress-free relaxing lavender bath’ around the time any sort of poison could’ve been slipped into the tea”, Impa told her with an empty voice. “A young servant – not one of his usual ones, as the girl herself seemed to be disgusted to serve him – has been watching and serving him during this said relaxing bath.” Impa sighed. “A shame. I’ve understood that Marten’s been a pain and it would be best to get rid of him – or even throw him out of from the castle and his current position, if necessary. I spoke to Brother Arko a while ago, and he seems to despise that little rat.”  
“Hm…” Zelda pondered. “You trust Brother Arko very much, do you not?”   
“Well, sure. We pretty much grew up together”, Impa replied. “Kakariko Village and its Sheikah warriors trained a lot together with aspiring Goron wrestlers… only the strongest against the strongest. Sparring with Arko in the mountains was great. I am quite glad, Princess Zelda, that you took my advice and let him represent his tribe in the Union affairs.”  
Zelda nodded absently. She was happy to have made Impa content, but… the current situation stressed her too much to take that compliment.  
“I see what you are thinking, Princess Zelda. It’s a shame there’s still not enough evidence to kick that snake Marten out of the board”, Impa sighed. “Well… if we can’t find a more concrete piece of evidence, that is.”  
“He has friends”, Zelda pointed out. “If we can connect him to those…” She gasped. “Today I let go of his assistant, who had been acting very xenophobic towards our guests...”  
“That could be the culprit indeed”, Impa agreed, raising her eyebrows. “I will be sure to inform those who investigate this matter. I will make sure to check everyone who is affiliated with Marten.” She wrinkled her eyebrows. “It’s so strange. Marten used to be positive to this Union, and so did the people… well, some of them, at least. But as soon as they found out that none of the other tribes were human...”  
“It was a mistake appointing him as representative for the Hylians”, Zelda sighed. “I mean, they had complained about him, but I did not think he was as bad as people say… not until his assistant today uttered what he had. To choose such an underling must mean that Chancellor Marten has ulterior motives… does it not?”  
“Most likely”, Impa sighed. “And I heard some of the townspeople went up against you, as well?”  
“How did you know!?” Zelda gasped.  
“Heh. Upon our return they shouted some words of despise and ungratefulness at us”, Impa laughed ironically, “as well as a young soldier told me what had happened, the one that had accompanied you – Marcus, was it not?”  
“Yes”, Zelda nodded. “So… hm. The situation is this bad… did I understand you correctly; your men are already investigating the matter?”  
“Yes. Some of my best men and women are on the team”, Impa replied.  
“Oh, women, too… of course. Women can make excellent soldiers”, she smiled.  
“So they can”, Impa said, smiling back ever so slightly. It lifted Zelda’s spirits a little.  
“Thank you very much, Impa”, Zelda said. “For everything. Hopefully we can get an end to all of this soon, then.”  
“I hope so, too.” Impa crossed her legs. “My crew will report to me as soon as they get to know anything. They will note anything suspicious the moment they find something out. My spies are everywhere now. I shall be sure to inform you as soon as possible if anything comes up.”  
“Good, good”, Zelda replied. “Thank you for acting so fast, Impa.”  
“Of course, Princess Zelda. Thank you for the compliment.”  
The attendant exhaled, but didn’t sound satisfied. Zelda could see it in her eyes; Impa wished she could do more. This didn’t only hurt the Union, all of Hyrule, the Royal Family and her personally – it had hurt Zelda, and that, the Princess knew, was the worst anyone could do to Impa.  
“But”, her attendant now began with a focused eye, “why is it you’re here, lying in bed, Princess Zelda? You’re tougher than this, that much I know. Monsters would’ve angered you, not scare you into fainting… not so badly as you did, at least.”  
“Oh, I was just over-worked. Nothing else”, Zelda waved away. “You know how busy I have been since Father left to scout the lands…” Suddenly, she was stricken with worry, “Oh… no…” She bit her lip and turned to Impa. “Has he returned yet??”  
“Not yet”, Impa sighed. “We’re still expecting word from him soon. Troops are out looking for his party as we speak. I know it’s difficult, but try not to think about it. King Nahtus is a powerful man and he’s aided by some of the greatest men in Hyrule. I’m sure he will return soon, unharmed.” The attendant leaned forward and studied Zelda. “But, Princess Zelda…”, she then added, “there must be something else to all of this. Your health has never been bad.”  
There it was again. Impa’s keen eye. It was as if it saw right through Zelda sometimes. She felt like her bare soul was for Impa to easily study whenever she did that thing with her eyes…  
“I am fine”, she tried sounding as steady as she only could. “Nothing to worry about.”  
But Impa didn’t buy it.  
“No. Quit that. There is something ailing you, Princess Zelda, and it’s ailing you quite greatly”, the attendant persisted sternly. Then, softly – even her gaze looking less angry now, and more pleading, worried, even: “Tell me, please… what is it?”  
Just as well, perhaps. Well, at least in this case.  
“Well...” Zelda sighed. “Impa, I must tell you… I… have had… dreams lately.”  
“What kind of dreams?” Impa raised her eyebrow. Zelda immediately noticed the worry growing in her attendant’s eyes, but she persisted reacting wildly, in order to not create any further panic. Zelda appreciated that.  
“Well, uh...” Zelda began. “It is… those kind of dreams.” Her voice grew weak. “The kinds you have always warned me of...”  
Impa’s red eyes were judging. Zelda didn’t like it, but she knew Impa was overprotecting. She only meant well… so… she had to tell her...  
“… and in this case, it was a repeating nightmare about Hyrule’s downfall”, Zelda quietly admitted.  
Impa didn’t say anything at first. Her mouth was a straight line. She looked stopped playing with the Princess’ hair and looked down at her without uttering a word.  
“...Impa?” Zelda asked.  
“Princess Zelda”, Impa said, her voice restrained. Oh, dear. She was mad. Zelda braced herself for the worst.  
“Why didn’t you tell me at once!?” Impa asked, her tone angry, but controlled. “This is bad!”  
“I know, Impa”, the Princess whimpered, “but… I…”  
Impa’s eyes widened. Then she flew into a rage.  
“HOW COULD YOU NOT TELL ME AT ONCE!?” she shouted. She flung herself from the chair and practically shook with anger. “We’ve discussed this! Princess Zelda, you know what those dreams mean!” The attendant sighed loudly and sat down again, staring intently – disappointed, surely – at Zelda. “If we don’t take them seriously, it could lead to Hyrule’s downfall – in this case, one that has already begun!!”   
Zelda stared at the attendant with disbelieving eyes. She felt like crying. She had never seen Impa that… angry. It scared Zelda – more than the monsters or even the fact that her beloved lands were under attack.  
In fact, the fury of a beloved was worse than any nightmare she ever had. Zelda’s heart raced and she noticed that tears were running down her face.  
Impa stared back at her, realising what she had done. She sighed deeply and sunk down to her knees, bowing to the Princess.  
“I apologise, Princess Zelda”, she said, bleakly. “Truly, I do. However, I’m shocked you didn’t contact me at once. Now, I know you don’t believe in the power of your own dreams, but...”  
“I do.” Zelda quietly had interrupted Impa. She didn’t even dare looking her in the eye, she just stared at the sheets beneath her. “I do… now. It is okay, do rise. I would probably have reacted the very same way if I had been in your position.”  
Zelda bit her lip and looked away. This was tough on Impa, but of she even knew the whole truth…   
Impa closed her mouth. It grew into a straight line.  
“There’s even more bothering you”, she stated with a raised eyebrow.  
The Princess sighed and considered her options. Impa would be even more worried, but…  
… it would be so nice to let this all out.  
“Yes”, she finally thus affirmed.   
Impa regarded her with kind eyes.  
“Tell me.”  
Princess Zelda took a deep breath. This was not going to be easy.  
“Well”, she began, and then told Impa all about the dream in detail, and the monsters that had attacked town, and the horribly striking similarities. Impa did not even once interrupt. She only waited patiently until the Princess had finished talking, even though her eyes told Zelda that she was not happy with this.  
“So the monsters in your dreams are the ones that attacked the town”, Impa concluded after Zelda’s story.  
Her voice was disappointed, angry, sad, afraid, even worried.  
But she did her best to hide this from the Princess. Zelda saw this. Oh, dear… Impa never wanted to hurt Zelda. She was sometimes a bit too careful around her. Zelda would often wish the attendant would be a little more honest with her…  
… but, at the same time, she appreciated the kind gesture Impa was showing. She meant no harm. Quite the contrary.  
“Well, yes… that is it.” Zelda shamefully turned her gaze to the floor. “I… I apologise. I know I should have contacted you at once, Impa, but there was so much happening around me, and...”  
“Shh. It’s okay. Don’t worry.” Impa smiled, for the first time in a long while, it felt like, a pure, honest smile. A motherly smile. “I know. It’ll be alright. You’ve done your best. But please, don’t be this reckless again, Princess Zelda.”  
“I… I promise I will not”, the Princess nodded. “… Thank you, Impa. For being so patient with me.”   
“Nothing to thank me for”, the attendant replied and rose from her chair. “It would seem we also have to investigate where all these monsters came from, so we can pinpoint the source of evil – and your dream.”  
“Yes, I –“, Zelda interrupted herself.   
There was something about Impa’s face that disturbed her. It seemed focused on something, a thought that had stricken her suddenly, something of fascination, something of… worry…  
“Impa?” Zelda asked, and the attendant jolted back to reality – really, that is what it looked like. “Impa, is… is everything alright?”  
“Yes, yes, Princess Zelda… it is”, Impa replied, absently. “I, uh… just remembered something.”  
“I see.” The Princess wasn’t sure if she could trust that, however. There was something about Impa’s eyes she never had seen before in her entire life.   
It was fear.  
That scared Zelda. Impa was never scared of anything. She was angry. But now… this felt… no, it couldn’t be true, could it?  
Zelda groaned from the thoughts. She was suspicious of Impa! Oh, it felt so wrong.  
“You seem to be worried, however”, the attendant pointed out.  
“Ah, yes, I…. I am worried about how all of the recent events will affect the Union.”   
That much was true. This would affect the Union negatively – not just the poisoning, but the monster attack – no the monster attacks, wasn’t that more correct? – as well.   
That seemed to soften Impa’s eyes – if only for a little while.   
“Do not worry, Princess Zelda”, she reassured. “Union Day will be a success. The ceremony will go through, and nothing will be as the opposers imply. I will help you with your vision. Everyone should be welcome in Hyrule. Everyone will feel welcome… it’s going to be all right.”  
Those words… it helped. The comforting honesty made Zelda calmer. Trustworthy Impa! Always there at her side. She would never let her down. Impa was hard-working. Zelda knew she would do everything in her power to realise the dreams Zelda and her father had, if it so was the last thing she did in life.  
“But before that, we have to take care of all the problems that have risen”, Zelda sighed and counted on her fingers. “So, in short, we have a murder mystery – well, almost – on our hands, and an uprising revolt against the Union, and several monster attacks...”   
“It is a quite a bunch of mysteries indeed”, Impa concluded. “All might seem hopeless, but worry not, Princess Zelda. Somehow, we will work this out.”  
Her eyes were angry, almost burning. Zelda almost got scared. She had never gotten scared from seeing Impa before.  
“Mark my words. We. Will.” The attendant was fierce, but there was also a hint of fear in her eyes. She grabbed something on the inside of her red Sheikah scarf and held it enclosed in her hand under there – Zelda saw it, Impa’s arm was shaking. Whatever she was holding so tightly… she seemed not to want to let go of it.   
That alarmed Zelda.  
Something else was up. And whatever it was, it couldn’t be good news.


	19. Chapter 19

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Link has a heartfelt talk both with Trinnean and Uncle Archie. He then suddenly faints and has new, strange visions of the odd animals.

Chapter nineteen

It took a while for the boys to get up the trees and some roofs of storage houses, but eventually, they made it up on the rooftop of the mayor's house, where they sat down at the edge of the roof.  
There, Link met with an amazing sight. He couldn’t help but smiling upon seeing it – it was something truly important to both Trinnean and himself.  
”Look”, Trinnean said softly. “Do you remember this place? I took you here the first day you came to Naavis. After Rhys had told you you'd never make friends with anyone here.”  
Link nodded. He more than well remembered that day. Trinnean had defied Rhys and taken Link to play with the horses out on the field, then showing him around in all of Naavis, and finally, Link had been the first to see Trinnean’s secret spot for sunset gazing…  
… which, after that and forevermore, became their spot. After that very day, Link had not left Trinnean’s side. The two had been best friends ever since.  
“… It’s been a while since we were here”, Trinnean said quietly. “But… it’s an important place, you know? A place… of hope and happiness.”   
“Yeah”, Link agreed. “It sure is.”  
“Yeah.” Trinnean snivelled. His eyes grew big and tears were forming in their corners.  
“I… c-could’ve lo-lost you t-today, man”, he stammered. “I… c-could’ve lost the b-best friend I’ve ever had.”  
“You’re brave, man, and kind, but you’re really dang foolish”, Trinnean said loudly, turning to Link. His eyes were red and tears were running down his cheeks. “Don’t do that, ever again!”  
Link sighed and bit his lip. He… had been foolish, indeed. He regretted it now. He could’ve really lost his life.   
“I… don’t know what I was thinking”, he said. “I’m sorry. I just… couldn’t bear losing Epona… or Tooh… and I… didn’t think at all, I suppose… I… I...”  
Link stopped there. He wasn’t good with words. He turned his face away, feeling tears swell in his eyes as well. Damn. Did he really have to!? Right now?!  
Trinnean grabbed his friend’s shoulders.  
“And I couldn’t have borne losing you, either!” he almost shouted. “Promise me you won’t do that ever again! Okay!?”  
Link nodded ferociously. Of course! It was stupid. He would be careful from now on.  
“I promise”, he said, both for Trinnean, and himself, and Archie.  
No… he did more than promise – he internally swore, by Din, Nayru and Farore, and all goddesses that had created Hyrule and its existence, that he never would do something as reckless again. Ever.  
“… good.” Trinnean exhaled and closed his eyes. “I can see in your eyes that you mean it. You mean good, you always do, but you tend to… you know… overdo it. By miles.” His face turned more sad. “But I was worse. I didn’t even stop you.”  
Link glanced at his friend.   
“Look, man…” Trinnean sighed and put his head into his hands. “I was so worried after that…even if I knew you had survived… but the stupidest thing were, I didn’t do something about it when you were in trouble. I could’ve done something. But instead, I froze, completely…! I was… stupid...”  
“No”, Link disagreed. “You were normal.”  
“… maybe”, Trinnean admitted. “But… I just… compared to you… you were willing to...” He swallowed. “No. I won’t bring up any more traumas. I saw how bothered you were earlier, with Kaye and the others around… so I won’t talk of it. What I wanted to talk about was something else – the play.”  
Oh, no. Link braced himself. He had a bad feeling about this.  
“So, I wanted to say this...” Trinnean begun. “Taking you up here, telling you this stuff, telling you about my fears like this… this is my way of showing you my support, man. Look, you might have been lying to yourself; but I know you, man, sometimes better than yourself. I know you wanted to audition for the hero part as well. Everybody could see it. But you took a dive for me. You’re too kind, Link – what you did for me, and the horses, it’s going to drive you to destruction! You’ve got to hink of yourself a little more now and then, okay? Don’t sacrifice yourself or your own happiness for others so much!”  
Link sighed. He… yeah. He hadn’t admitted it to himself. It had felt a bit wrong not to apply for the hero audition, but Link hadn’t understood exactly why. He wanted it… but he had stepped aside, like he always had done with everything.  
Today was the first time it had led to him losing his life, but, that was beside the point. That he wanted to do. But the hero part… Link felt sad upon realising the truth. He sure needed to be more honest to himself more often.  
“And I...” Trinnean let out a groaning sigh. “I… I kinda knew. But… I… prioritised myself, and…” he bit his lip. “I… sorry. I pushed it away, too. I should’ve supported you from the start, man.”  
Link let out an ironic laugh.  
“And end up like me?” he asked.  
“Okay. Perhaps not”, Trinnean admitted. “But look”, he continued, his voice strong and steady now. “That’s bygones now. This is the present, and I accept it. Even if I feel a little hurt, I have to admit that you’re stronger than me by miles – well, I mean, not physically – not by miles!” Trinnean showed a wide grin. “But, otherwise, you are. You really are. So, as you heard, I’m going to come along to town and see the Princess anyways. And help you knock the townspeople’s and the other tribes’ socks off, man! That’s going to be so rad! Hey, I wonder if the other tribes even wear socks… I mean, I don’t… and neither do you… huh, strange, noticing that only now, after all these… thirteen years.” He showed a goofy smile.  
Link laughed. True. That wasn’t something you usually thought about.  
He turned his face away, looking at the sun setting beyond the horizon in the west. It felt so nostalgic… he loved it.  
The sun was slowly heading towards somewhere way beyond Naavis, sinking far behind the horizon, beyond the great Hyrule Plains and some scattered trees and hills and a smaller mountain. The entire village was bathing in orange light. It was almost magical.  
”Must be weird to see the sun set just a few hours after you've woken up”, Trinnean chuckled. “You slept in super late today! But then again, sleeping is so nice, so I understand you. If I could sleep all day too, I'd probably do so! Aaah, what a life that would be!” He smiled widely. “But I'm afraid mum would disagree.”   
Link replied with a laugh. Yeah, Serena was a hard worker with little understanding for those who could goof off all day. Considering the entire family, Trinnean was really the odd one out, caring for things like aesthetics and alike, while the others cared more for a quiet life...  
Oh. Link just noticed that Trinnean looked super serious. He stopped laughing.  
”Look, man. I need to ask you of something”, the red-head begun. “As the representative of our people on Union Day, you need to promise me you'll do good, man”, he said. “Not just for all of Naavis. For all of Hyrule! And all of New Hyrule, too! Everyone's gonna see you up on that stage! I’ll help you out the best I can, so do your best! Union Day will be the greatest thing that happened to us – to all of Hyrule – in centuries, so this needs to be perfect, in every way. Alright?”  
Link smiled and nodded. Trinnean was taking this so seriously! It was almost laughable. But Link understood his worry – Trinnean cared about things like these, after all. It was amazing how… okay… he had become with this so quickly… Link wasn’t, however. But he was not going to show that to his best friend. Not after said best friend had been so supportive and cool about what had happened.  
“I promise I will do my best”, Link then thusly replied. “Don’t worry.”  
”Great.” Trinnean smiled back and finally seemed to relax. “Awesome.”  
They sat in silence for a while and stared at the sunset. They shared the last moment of the day pondering on everything they've been through today.  
”Well, here comes the dark”, Trinnean said. “Time to head home.”  
He jumped down the Mayor’s entrance balcony. Link followed, as the boys then climbed down the stairs and split by the foot of them.  
Trinnean saluted. “Night, Link.”  
“Good night.” Link nodded in reply, and both boys headed their separate ways home.  
The road ahead was empty and lit by fading twilight. Everything in Naavis was quiet; only crickets could be heard here and there. The sun was slowly setting and was soon to be engulfed by darkness.   
Link had never seen Naavis so… quiet this time of the day. Usually, some people would return home from work around this hour, and some would stay up the entire night, catching fireflies and whatnot. It was a bit heartbreaking to see. At least there were some people out; Bo and his brother, Trinnean and Kaylia’s dad; Bryn, were out patrolling.   
“Yo!” Bryn greeted. He was tall and muscular, just as his son, but sported a short beard and short, straight brown hair in contrast to his children and wife. However, Link was unused to see him armed to his teeth like that… war axes and a sturdy shield and leather armour.   
“Get home soon, Link!” Bryn exhorted. “It’s almost dark and Archie is surely worried!”  
“I’m on my way!” Link replied. “Be careful tonight!”  
“Of course!” Bryn replied, and walked off into the night.  
Link continued as well. Sure, Naavis was different. But... as long as everyone were safe, things would eventually be alright, right? And he had other things to worry about. As much as Link loved sleeping in, the rehearsals started really early in the morning. His diurnal rhythm was way off right now. Hopefully he could get up earlier tomorrow. Otherwise he'd miss the first rehearsal… and that, Mayor Bram would not like. Link shivered at the thought of an angry Mayor.   
No. No. Try to be calm. You’ve been through enough today already, Link told himself. He looked around, focusing on the familiar view, taking it in. The village was pretty bathing in twilight. Rooftops were gleaming in the little sunlight that was left, and stars where slowly appearing, one after one. The grass darkened into a shade of midnight blue.  
When Link arrived at his own home, he saw the lights shining through the windows. Archie was up.   
As Link entered the house he found the old man sitting by the kitchen table.  
”Oh, welcome home”, he said with a relieved sigh when Link closed the door. “You made it just in time.”   
“Sorry to keep you waiting”, Link replied.  
“Well, at least you went out armed”, Archie said and pat the stool by his side. “Here, come sit.”  
On the table was a tiny lamp. Archie let more fuel to the flame. Outside, the last bit of twilight was slowly disappearing and quickly replaced with the almost total darkness of the night.  
“Thank you for keeping your promise, m’boy”, Archie said softly. “Well, I can guess where you’ve been. How did it go?”  
With very mixed feelings, Link told him about the results.  
“I… got cast as the hero.”  
Archie regarded him with a keen eye.  
“I thought you were going to audition for the villain?” he asked.  
“I did”, Link replied.  
Archie was silent for a little while.  
“You don’t seem too happy about it”, he then pointed out, quietly.  
“No”, Link replied.  
“Well, then...” Archie sighed. “You seem to have a lot of conflicted feelings. Want to tell me about them?”   
“No”, Link replied. He just wanted to go to sleep. Trinnean might be okay with this, but Link still wasn’t. And then there were those monsters… and then, Tooh was hurt! And the dreams about those animals again… Link swallowed. Such a nightmare this entire day had been…  
Link started crying, silently first, but as the tears started burning on his cheeks he fell down to the floor and he felt sick. His stomach turned inside-out and his head started to spin. His body started to ache and shake and he felt cold.   
“Link!?” Archie jolted. “What’s wrong, Link!?”  
Link couldn’t reply. His mouth was dry and he felt like vomiting. He broke into a cold sweat and started panting. He tried to focus his eyes… everything turned dark and blurry, and he saw three tiny lights dance in front of him. One white, one yellow, and one purple…  
What!? The animals – outside of his dreams!? No, no, no, no, it couldn’t be true! Link closed his eyes, swallowed and opened them again. His vision returned ever so slightly for a moment.  
Then, he started to cry.  
The tears burned. Link started panting. He grabbed his forehead and tried to fight back the tears. He closed his eyes… NO! Those three lights! They were there again!  
Confused and afraid, he opened his eyes again and backed away.  
“Link!?” Archie shouted. He sounded panicked. “Link, what is it, my boy!?”  
But Link was unable to reply. His throat felt dry and his voice strained.  
“Link! Snap out of it! Come on, I know you can do it!!”  
Link groaned. He shut his eyes so hard and tried to ignore the lights dancing in front of him, even when they started to take shape… why did this happen to him in a conscious state…!?  
His head started to ache. It throbbed like crazy and Link fell down to his knees. This pain! Link thought that this was it. His time had come. This pain, it was too much…  
He let out a scream of panic.  
The bird came flying towards him, looking aggressive, even angry. The fox leapt after it, opening its mouth and jumped at Link, as if it was prepared to bite him.  
And the bunny…  
The bunny spoke. For the first time ever.  
“Remember.”  
And then…   
… Link’s vision turned entirely black.


	20. Chapter 20

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zelda feels like a complete failure and a voice in her heads tells her she's worthless. Brother Arko goes missing and Zelda is summoned to a rather odd, secret meeting.

Chapter twenty

“Impa…?” Zelda asked carefully, not sure how to bring up the fact that her attendant, very clearly, was trying to hide something from her.  
“What is it, Princess Zelda?” Impa regarded the Princess with a tilted head. She tried so well to hide it, but Zelda still saw it. The worry in her eyes. It gleamed, ever so faintly, in her red irises, and –  
“Princess Zelda!!” someone shouted from the outside, furiously rapping on the door. “Princess! It’s terrible! Brother Arko is nowhere to be found!!”  
“What!?” Zelda almost flung herself into a standing position. “What happened!?”  
“Nobody knows”, the soldier said, still from the other side of the door. Impa now opened it to see a shaken young boy in the Royal Guard uniform. “Ah, Lady Impa… I heard you had returned. Please, I beg of you, help us. With your searching skills, perhaps we have a chance of finding Brother Arko.”  
“I will do my best”, Impa nodded. “Princess Zelda, I presume we will resume our discussion later?”  
“Ah… yes”, Zelda nodded. “Now, is it anything I should do?”  
“Try to calm down your people”, the soldier suggested. “We could really need that right now. There are rumours the townspeople will start a riot, if nothing good happens soon.”  
“A riot!?” Impa scoffed. “Huh. Well, then… we need to be proper and frank with them about the situation, it seems...”  
“I tried that earlier”, Zelda sighed, “and honestly, it did not go too well...”  
“So I heard”, Impa said, and then immediately regretted it. “It would seem that you were too kind on them...”  
The attendant bit her lip. Zelda’s heart had grown heavier with Impa’s comment. Even Impa had lost faith in her.  
But the sad gleam in the eyes of the Sheikah warrioress were even worse. Zelda saw how Impa, the only mother-figure Zelda had ever known, knew that she just had insulted the Princess. If only just a little.  
But it still hurt so badly.  
“I, uh...” Impa begun. “What I mean is… I apologise, Princess Zelda. It has been an exhausting journey, and to return to this, it has made my head dizzy and I don’t even know what I’m saying anymore. Do believe me, please; I am truly sorry, Princess Zelda.”  
“I…”, Princess Zelda sighed. “I understand. But you are right, Impa. I perhaps were too kind on them. Perhaps I should have been more… authoritative.”  
Impa showed a sad smile.  
“You have done what you can with the experience and power you have. Try your best still until King Nahtus comes back, and the two of you will solve this together. Until then, you can do this. I believe in you”, the attendant said.   
“Yes… thank you”, Zelda replied, not feeling quite cheered up.  
“Um, Lady General? We should leave now if we want to find Brother Arko, so...”  
“Yes, of course”, Impa replied.   
She turned to Princess Zelda one final time and said:  
“I truly believe you can solve this, somehow. You are wise, Princess Zelda. Perhaps you could write a speech and gather the masses? A speech of how Hyrule will stand unified… and that the Union with other tribes is not a matter right now. Perhaps we could fool the opposers for the moment… and then find out a better way to deal with them, when we have the possibility.”  
“A good suggestion”, the Princess nodded.  
Impa showed a bleak smile.  
“That’s the spirit. Good luck, Princess Zelda.”  
And with those words, she left together with the soldier and closing the door behind her. Zelda was alone again.  
She sunk down on the floor with a heavy sigh.   
“Why do I feel like I do more harm than help…?” she muttered to herself, sinking her forehead into her open palms. Her head was still throbbing ever so slightly, but at least it didn’t hurt. That was… very good news, she tried to tell herself.  
But not good enough.  
“I have to do something”, she decided, rising suddenly. “I cannot just sit here and pity myself. My people need me. But what can I do… they are opposing me more than ever.” Zelda bit her teeth together and clenched them hard in frustration, so hard her head started to hurt. Tears started to well up, they burned the corners of her eyes, but she refused to snivel the slightest. “I am strong. I can do this. I will figure something out. I can do this.”  
She took a few steps towards the door, trying to stay calm through deep breathing.  
“I can do this… I can do this… I can do this.” She exhaled hot, tense air. “Yes. I can. But it will not be easy. Oh, if only Father was here… he… would be of help and could give me advice… or something… though I doubt he has ever faced with such a crisis himself…”  
She opened the door and stepped out, trying to put on a mental mask of iron on her face that could shower over her soul.  
She wouldn’t back to nothing.   
Okay. She should attend to the people. But first, Lady Selleene.  
Princess Zelda felt quite bad about fainting in the Palace Doctor’s office like that, with Lady Selleene dying and everything. It was her duty as host to make sure that her guests were happy and safe and she had failed.   
Zelda’s eyes watered at the mere thought. She had failed so hard. Everything during the last 24 hours had turned into a complete nightmare. And so quickly, too… and everyone was unhappy. And it was all Zelda’s fault.  
At least, that’s what she felt.   
“No, I could not have known that the monsters were about to attack TODAY...” she tried to tell herself.  
Yes, but you have had those dreams. You could have stopped this, a voice resonated inside her head. You could have stopped this and protected everyone.  
“I… could… have...” Zelda admitted to herself, biting her lip, trying so hard not to cry.  
You could have, confirmed the voice, and you could have stopped Lady Selleene from getting poisoned.  
“I could have… I could have drunken the tea myself and I could have gotten poisoned instead… that is what I deserve...” Zelda bit her lip even harder. It hurt so bad. At any second now, her corner tooth would pierce the skin on her lip, she was sure of that. But she still continued biting.  
That is what you deserve, said the voice. You are going to be a terrible ruler. You cannot even handle a crisis situation with the help you have! As soon as your Father is gone Hyrule Castle Town – no, all of Hyrule – turns into a burning battle ground and everything is danger. You have failed your people. You have failed yourself. You are a complete failure, Princess Zelda Hylia of Hyrule.  
“I-I...” Zelda stuttered out loud to herself – or to the voice in her head – or to nobody – before changing her mind and biting her lip again, even harder now. The skin burst. Blood immediately started to flow down her chin and into her mouth, filling the latter with a disgusting, metallic flavour.   
“No, no, no, no, no….” Zelda thought to herself as reality hit her together with the blood taste. Somehow it made her wake up and realise that those thoughts were just going to worsen things, no matter how true they seemed and how accurate they felt…  
“I am a failure”, Zelda thought to herself, swallowing the blood, “but I can pull through this. Right. The Doctor’s Office. Now.”  
With determined steps she headed towards her destination.   
For each step she took, Zelda tried to concentrate on moving forward, thinking only about that, in order to keep the evil thoughts at bay. She would not succumb to them. She could not succumb to them! Without her, Hyrule would fall…   
Oh no, on the contrary. Because of her, Hyrule would fall, and she was only in the way for the people’s peace and joy, the voice said. Zelda responded by grunting and picking up the pace, almost running forward now.  
There were few guards and servants out in the hallways. Most soldiers were probably out fighting, Zelda guessed, and the servant folk hiding somewhere… but the ones that were out and saw their Princess were shocked to do so.  
“Princess Zelda!” they blurted out. “Your Grace! Should you not be resting? We heard you had lost consciousness… oh, oh goodness, Your Highness! Is that blood on Your face!? Have you been attacked!? Say it isn’t so!”  
Zelda calmed them quickly down by muttering that it was her own stupidity that had caused all this, and then dismissed them. A few maids and guards, however, seemed to sneer in malicious joy when they saw the bloody Princess, but said nothing and continued on their merry way, whispering to each other.   
The Princess pricked up her ears and tried to hear what they were saying. Were they talking ill of her? That, she could take. But she was still curious… because perhaps, if they were, they were most likely right…  
“No”, she tried telling herself, “try to stay away from those thoughts. Doctor’s Office. Now.”  
She trampled on, trying to tell herself that she didn’t care. And yet...  
“There she goes, the traitor Princess”, she heard a maid whisper.  
“Oh yes. Marten was right, you know”, whispered a guard. “I think it’s those strangers that took the monsters here. If it wasn’t for them, we’d still have peace.”  
That did it. Zelda had had enough.  
She turned to them, furious with rage, her eyes burning like fire. The maid and the guard jerked upon realising she had been listening.  
“Uh, Princess, we...” the maid tried.  
“No excuses.” Zelda clenched her teeth. “None of what you just said was true, and you both know it. You two are hereby no longer employed by the castle. Now. Get out.”  
And she then turned around and marched onward, ignoring the desperate and angry pleas and the shouts behind her.  
Zelda’s mind went blank and she just focused on heading onward.  
You are worthless. You heard what the servants said. You should never have done this. “No”, she said, and kept thinking that same word over and over again until she reached the Doctor’s office.  
There, she angrily knocked on the door.  
A sound of furniture rustling around was heard, as well as the bump of someone stubbing their toe, complete with a muffled curse word. Zelda wrinkled her eyebrows. What was going on in there?  
But before she could ask, the Doctor’s voice asked:  
“Yes, who is it?”  
“It is I, Princess Zelda of Hyrule”, Zelda replied, feeling that her usual reply to that question now was more filled with resent towards herself than with the usual pride she had when presenting herself.   
“Ah, do come in, Princess, please”, the Doctor replied. “I have expected you.”  
She entered the room, and was immediately taken by surprise.  
The Doctor had pulled up a bunch of chairs by Lady Selleene’s sickbed. All except for one were occupied. Besides the Doctor himself, the other persons present were that soldier from before, the one named Marcus – as well as the presumed missing Brother Arko.  
Zelda stepped backwards in confusion. What the heck was this!?  
“The empty chair is for you, Your Grace”, the Doctor said. “Now, please, do have a seat. We have much to discuss, and there is very little time.”


	21. Chapter 21

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Archie takes care of the weary Link and tells him all about the adventures in the Wildlands. During the night, someone breaks into their home.

Chapter twenty-one

“Link? Are you okay?”  
Link opened his eyes again. His head didn’t hurt anymore, but it felt like mush… and he was dizzy, his face was wet with tears and sweat, and… what was he doing on the floor?  
“Oh, my boy!” Archie cried out in relief. “I thought something had happened to you… oh, dear.”   
Link bit his lip. He wanted to answer, but felt incapable to utter even the slightest sound. His head was still spinning, but he was starting to be aware of where he was and what had happened… goodness, why couldn’t he focus his gaze!?  
He tried standing up. He wanted to puke. His legs were weak and his entire body felt weak and… vibrated?  
“My boy, get to the bed. You’ve had a stressful day, it’s finally catching up on you”, Archie said in a worried tone. “Here, grab my arm, I’ll lead you.”  
Gratefully, Link latched onto his foster uncle’s arm and began slowly walking on bent knees towards the bed. Immediately he lied down and closed his eyes, concentrating on breathing.   
“Feeling better?” Archie asked.  
Link nodded barely. He had difficulties moving. It was like his body was exhausted to the point that he no longer had any control of it. His mind… was not much better. Not even if he tried, Link felt like that he couldn’t even construct a proper thought in his head. It was quite frustrating.  
“Wait here, I’ll get you some water”, Archie decided.  
Link heard the man step away and relaxed even more. It was like he was fading into… a state of complete bliss after a whole bunch of trials. It was an amazing feeling.  
Archie brought over a cup of water and helped Link drink. It took some time, as Link’s jaw and lips didn’t want to obey him – but it helped him return to a more conscious and energetic state.  
“There. Feeling better?” Archie asked.  
Link nodded. Yes, he did. Not perfect, but way better than a moment ago.  
“Good.” Archie sighed in relief. “I was quite worried there for a bit… but I’ve seen this before. It’s like… your body and mind finally catches up with reality, and as it all dawns, it’s quite a bit to take in. The first times you don’t even know what’s going on. It can be quite scary.”  
Link nodded again. He tried sitting up, but his muscles failed him.  
“A, ah, ah! No! Slowly, gently”, Archie instructed. “Don’t move too much. Your body is weak right now. Let it rest.” He showed the boy a sad smile under those giant moustaches. “You’ve had quite a day. And now, you’re going to be the big star of the show, huh? No rest for the wicked… unless I order you to. Which I do. Right this moment. Ha, ha!”  
His laugh was honest, but there was something about it that was filled with sorrow at the same time. Link couldn’t really point out what it was. It frustrated him.  
What frustrated him even more was the fact that he was going to be the hero. Link glanced at the package containing the hero’s clothes. It had dropped on the floor as he fell.   
“Hm?” Archie perked up. “Oh, the costume… mind if I take a look?”  
Link shook his head. No, go ahead. He was quite curious himself…  
… even if something in him insisted that this was wrong. It should’ve been Trinnean who’d play the hero. Why was Link picked!? He hadn’t even auditioned for the right part! Yes, Mage Merrick had his motives – sure – but Trinnean was just as good as Link to do this! Even if Link wanted it… he didn’t deserve it!  
And then those animals – okay, so Link’s body was tired – but that didn’t explain him seeing the animals like that, in an awaken state, at that…  
Link let out a silent grunt. What the heck was going on!?  
“Heh”, he heard Archie suddenly say.  
Link turned to him in shock, realising he had been spacing out completely in his frustration. But at least he now felt more awake than ever. Link let out a quiet satisfied sound as he realised that he now could move his hands without any problem, and the energy was still slowly returning to his arms.  
“Ah, you’re returning to normal. Good, good. But before that, excuse me now, Link, but I saw what you were thinking, m’boy. You’ve never been good with this, I’m afraid”, the old man commented with a smile. “You do deserve this, though. I know the judges’ motives. I spoke to them all just earlier today. What I wanted to know was if you’re alright with this, considering Trinnean and everything involving your friendship.”  
“Oh”, Link said, silent for a moment to ponder if avoiding the question or being direct would be better. He went for the first. “Well… Trinnean… supports me.”  
“Nice try”, Archie laughed. “That wasn’t my question. So how do you feel? Not Trinnean. You.”  
Link sighed. He wasn’t sure… but he still was happy. He was confused. He didn’t know. Yes, he did know. Or… did he?  
“Honestly… I’m feeling like I still don’t deserve this”, Link admitted quietly.   
“But you’re still excited… it seems?” Archie askd, studying the boy’s face in detail.  
Damn, Link thought. His uncle knew him all too well.  
“Yeah”, Link admitted. “I didn’t want the hero part at first, but, now that Trinnean is okay with it… I am, too. It will be fun… eventually.”  
“There you go!” Archie dunked his hand into the boy’s back. “I’m proud of you. I know it’s hard to overcome feelings of guilt, but if Trinnean makes do with it, I know he wants you to do your best as the hero.”  
“Yeah”, Link nodded. “I just wonder…”   
He silenced and tried to sort out his train of thoughts. It was a mystery, actually, the entire audition, now that he thought about it...  
“Hm?” Archie asked.  
“Why I got cast as the hero in the first place”, Link finished. “I mean, I didn’t even audition for it.”  
Archie regarded him with a soft, studying look.  
“You know that look you get when you get really serious about something?” he said. “I can imagine you had that on your face as you auditioned – just as you did when I came earlier today… oh, well, forget about that. My point is, with that manner, with your skills and most of all, your humbleness – no wonder they insisted on casting you. And, besides… mage Merrick told me he could read you like a book. You wanted to be cast as the hero, too, didn’t you?”  
“Heh”, Link let out. “Yes… maybe.”  
“There’s no shame in that. You will do great.”  
Oh, gosh. Link feeling strangely proud and embarrassed. Uncle Archie was too kind!  
“Hey”, Archie said, suddenly in a much calmer, sadder manner. “Today...”  
Link swallowed and nodded. Yeah, today.  
“Trinnean just gave me a speech”, Link said. “About how he could’ve lost me.”  
“I was going to do the same”, Archie sighed, “but I guess it will be too much with twice of those in such a short time span. I’ll let you off the hook this time. But please… don’t ever do something as stupid again.”  
“I swear”, Link nodded. He sat quietly, staring into nothingness, thoughts racing through his head. Monsters, death, horses, hero, weapons, Trinnean...  
Archie regarded him. “You’re really serious about this. I can see you’re still very stressed out. My poor boy…”  
Uncle Archie scooted closer and gave Link a big, warm hug – one of those he always gave when Link was sad or upset. Link closed his eyes and felt the warmth. It felt… so safe…  
He lingered in the feeling as long as he was being hugged, feeling how his breathing slowly got calmer, and he could relax his mind a little. It was great.  
“Your thought was noble”, Archie said when freeing Link from the embrace, “so in case you want to keep walking on that path, always, always remember arms. Okay?”  
“Okay.” Link nodded and went back to the silent, worried space. He didn’t know why it happened. The hug helped, but immediately after that, even if the worry had weakened, he still couldn’t stop thinking about today. What made it worse was that Link was annoyed that he couldn’t.  
Uncle Archie sighed.  
“Look”, he said. “Let’s try lighten up the mood. Remember how I told you that this last mission was going to be really special?”  
Link lifted his head a little. He felt a spark of curiosity in his heart.  
“Well”, Archie smiled under the huge moustache, “I’ll show you what I went to get.”  
He took out a big cloth pouch from his pockets. Archie opened it. Inside the pouch was a wooden box. Archie opened the box and produced something from it – another pouch…  
“Oh, come on!” Link blurted out.  
“Haha!” Archie let out, grinning widely now. “Well, I promise this is the last one. Look.”  
Uncle Archie opened the string pouch and carefully poured out its contents on the table. Link widened his eyes. He had never seen something as bright and shiny and colourful in his entire life before.  
Gemstones. A tiny heap of brilliant gemstones in blue, red and green. Link was taken aback. Such pretty little things! He had seen some jewels very much alike some of Archie’s minings from before, but never something this… brilliant, somehow.  
“This...” Archie sighed. “I was wondering if this could be the reason the monsters came after me”, Archie said. “Although...” He silenced. “No. I doubt it. There were none of those close to me as I was mining – and I’ve been there before without anything bad happening. And somehow, perhaps I’m wrong, but… it feels like… Hyrule, and everything around it, is… changing somehow...”   
Archie sounded rather frustrated. Link understood. He would’ve suspected that the gemstones were something the monsters wanted, too. But if they hadn’t attacked Archie when he was mining them, why turn up now…? And considering that it never, ever had happened before… Link wrinkled his eyebrows. Such a mystery...  
“Well, never mind that”, Archie suddenly stated, pounding his fist lightly into the table. “It’s over now. For the moment, at least. Let’s not focus on that anymore for today, shall we?”  
Link agreed. Oh, did he agree!  
”You see, I was requested to go mine some rare jewels. The prettiest ones can be found in the Wildlands. There’s a rich source in the west of Hyrule, in an area I’m not too familiar with, as it is rather inhumane further away, but at what’s closest to Hyrule, there’s still a great deal of jewels to mine, if you know where to look.” Archie winked playfully. “King Nahtus wished me to get them for a very special reason... now, Link, I know you can keep a secret, so I'm going to tell you the purpose of those jewels.”  
“Of course!” Link promised.  
“Well, it would be highly unlike you to go spill a secret anyway”, Uncle Archie mused. “So… you know what the Union Day Ceremony is all about, right? Uniting the ancient tribes of some of the Wildlands with Hyrule. But at the same time, King Nahtus is going to retire.”  
“What!?” Link gasped.  
“Oh, hold on just a minute. I’m not done yet, you see. King Nahtus is going to let his daughter, Princess Zelda, take over the throne… and for that, he asked if I could go gather some jewels for her new crown. The coronation would be a surprise for her, on the Union Day itself, as the entire thing was her idea, after all, and she worked so hard and well on it all; King Nahtus believes she is more than ready to reign Hyrule now.”   
“Wow”, Link let out. That was really cool of the King to do such a thing. And that Archie, of all people, knew about this, when nobody else did! Then, of course, the King of Hyrule and Archie went way back, and were great friends still today. Together with the Captain of the Hyrulean Guard, the three had quite a history behind them.   
Archie let out a loud laugh. “Well, don't look so surprised, m'boy! King Nahtus is getting old, even just a bit older than me, so it's no wonder that he, too, is starting to feel the age coming to him.” Archie laughed. “It's kind of fun to retire right before your oldest friend does. King Nahtus was a bit jealous of me when I told him of my plans, that old geezer! Perhaps that is why he sent me on this mission in the first place!”  
Link laughed. “Old geezer”!? Who else in the world would call the King of Hyrule such a thing – and at that, even jokingly imply that he sent Archie to work just to tease him? Dang, Archie and the King must be really good friends!  
”Anyway, take a look at these beauties, Link”, Archie said. “Aren't they marvellous?”  
He took a brilliantly blue topaz in hand and let the lamp shine at it from different angles. It created a soft, blue shine, beaming out from the topaz.  
Link held up a blood-red ruby and admired it. It truly was a majestic gem, no doubt.  
So these were for the Princess. Link could understand the King's purpose. Union Day was, after all, as Trinnean said: one of the greatest happenings in the history of Hyrule – at least in their lifetime. Archie had done a great job finding these gemstones for the Royal Family.  
”It's going to be a great honour to see Princess Zelda finally become Queen”, Archie said. “She's grown up to be quite a fine lady. Perhaps you don't remember her that well, it was quite a while ago the two of you met. Both of you were just a pair of young children back then, playing around in the gardens, upsetting the guards… stealing that apple pie” Archie laughed. “That short moment you two spent together you were great friends, causing very much trouble all around the castle grounds. King Nahtus found you, and you were so afraid when you got caught… but he just laughed and let the two of you keep on playing your games.”  
Link smiled vaguely. Yeah… it sounded so nice. It would’ve been awesome to remember that… but he didn’t. At all.   
Even if it sounded like a memory he would treasure forever and ever, Link still could not recall any of those moments Archie always kept telling him about. It was rather… frustrating. Then again, what happened in the castle was apparently right after Uncle had found him, there in the bush, so terribly afraid, so shaken, so… traumatised.   
Link sighed. He wondered what had happened in the first place. If he only could remember… according to Uncle Archie, he took Link to the castle town to look for his parents, but as they never turned up, and Archie had apparently gotten quite fond of the boy, he took him home…  
… and that’s where Link had been ever since. That’s when Link’s memory started to work again, it was only upon from the point in time he had entered Naavis for the first time that he could remember, from everything he had been through.  
He clenched his teeth and exhaled hot, tense air. Gah! He hated this.  
The silence growing in the room felt awkward. It was almost... pressuring.  
”Sorry about that”, Archie said, quietly. “I… didn’t mean to...”  
Right, here and now. Link was pulled back to the present and lightly shook his head. No, it was quite alright. He couldn’t blame Archie for trying to make Link remember happy times… if only the horrible ones hadn’t been connected to it. Maybe then…  
“Hey, do you remember the first time you called me ‘uncle’?” Uncle Archie suddenly said.   
Link smiled. He sure did.  
“As I never felt like quite a father figure to you… but impressed and inspired with Trinnean’s – and Kaylia’s – love for their uncles… the closeness in their family...”  
Link felt tears forming in the corners of his eyes now. Yeah. That… that was a good memory that he did recall. Something that made his heart suddenly flood with… softness and silly nostalgia.  
“I was so happy back then”, Archie whispered. “That you… after being so wary and almost aggressive in that bush… had finally accepted me as family and… all that.”  
“I loved you long before that”, Link admitted. “You’re the first person I can remember.”  
Archie snivelled loudly.   
”Thank you”, he replied, barely audible, and snivelled again. Turning up his head, he glanced at the window. “Uh, well then, m'boy. It's getting late. I think we both have had an eventful day.” He rose and went for the door. “This is the first time in my life I think someone will ever lock the doors in Naavis… well, except old Margaret and the shopkeepers, that is...”  
Link felt bewildered. Archie was never good with these emotional sort of things. On the other hand, neither was Link. So maybe it was good to cut things short like this.  
“Let's get to bed”, Archie suggested. “Tomorrow will surely be a better day.”  
Yeah. Link agreed. Maybe it would. Better be optimistic. It was the best thing to do right now… hope, and be optimistic. Right.  
The two of them bid each other good night and snuffed out the light. Their home grew quiet and peaceful in the house as darkness engulfed them.

Everything was calm in the house. Link was sleeping soundly, as usual not even waking up for a second from Archie’s loud snores.   
He wasn't dreaming anything weird tonight. Or well, maybe he was. Maybe it was an auditive dream. Link saw nothing, but he heard rustling noises, loud and clear. It sounded like someone rummaging around the room.   
It couldn't be Archie, because he was snoring in the other bed at the other side of the room. Unless he was sleepwalking. It could happen, Link supposed. That, or he was actually dreaming. But no, Link was sure the snoring came from Archie’s bed...  
The noise stopped. Everything got quiet again. Link sighed deeply and turned over. This had to be a dream, right? His eyes were still closed, and he still felt stressed and all, so...  
No... he felt how his feet got cold. Not dream cold. For real cold. Had they forgotten to close the window or something? But why was he getting cold only now?  
Then, Link heard small footsteps tapping about on the floor. Now he was sure of it. He was awake. And worse yet.  
Someone was in their house.


	22. Chapter 22

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> During the meeting of secret actions of allies, Zelda has a hard time concentrating due to the massive feelings of worthlessness - and suddenly, she actually finds herself on the brink of pure and utter madness.

Chapter twenty-two

“Well?” the Doctor grunted. “Please do sit down, Your Grace. Or do you prefer standing?”  
Zelda shook her head, finally realising that something severe was going on.  
“No, no”, she said, heading for the empty chair, “it is quite alright. But… I am… very confused, what is going on? And Brother Arko, what are you doing here!? Everyone in the castle are looking for you – even Impa!”  
“I know”, Brother Arko admitted quietly. “She found me. I’ve asked her to derail them.”  
“You what!?” Zelda burst out, completely flabbergasted. She felt her chin fall and eyes widen – her face must be so long, she thought and quickly regained composure. She couldn’t afford to be seen like this – at least not for long. “J-just…” she stammered, “what… in the world is happening!?”   
“Heh”, Arko laughed, “funny story...”  
“The background details can wait until later”, the Doctor said sharply and cleared his throat, shooting impatient glances at both the Goron and the Princess. “For now, let us focus on solving the problem at hand.”  
“Oh… of course.” Zelda took her seat and everything was quiet for a while, except for the heavy breathing and gurgling from Lady Selleene’s sick bed.  
I wonder how she is doing, Zelda thought to herself. This is not good, nor for her, nor for any of us… and if she dies here… I could not stand it… she should not die here, pointlessly, murdered, so far away from home and her own people, on a diplomatic mission no less…  
“AHEM!” the Doctor called out. The Princess jolted.  
“Princess”, the Doctor cleared his throat. “I understand that you are quite worried in this moment what will happen to… well, everything”, the Doctor circled one hand in the air to illustrate how much he really meant everything, “but there is no point in stressing over problems that can and will be solved.”  
“They… can?” Zelda gasped. She didn’t believe it. “How?”   
Here they have thought out a plan while you have been melodramatic, the voice in the back of her head told her. They are efficient, and you are but a pathetic little whiner.   
Zelda inhaled deeply and ignored the hurtful inner words.  
“For now”, the Doctor began, “we have to get Brother Arko safe. With all the opposers of the Union out there, there’s no doubt that they will use this as a propaganda tool to make it look like that the non-Hylian tribes are behind all of this. So, Brother Arko has agreed upon returning home for now.”  
“A good move”, Zelda nodded, although she didn’t really agree – it felt unorthodox to stoop so low – but if it’d help, then… she was prepared to do this.   
Probably.  
Speak up, you weakling, the voice continued. You disagree with him completely. You would very much prefer a calm and controlled debate between everyone concerned instead. Admit it. Say it out loud!  
“What about Lady Selleene, then?” Zelda asked the Doctor instead, suppressing the nagging voice in the back of her head.  
“We have to keep her here for now”, the Doctor grunted. “Transporting her at this point would be critical. The poison can be lethal if she moves too much.” He let out a tired sigh, but his eyes remained focused and determined as he shot glances at his patient. “While the soldiers handle the acute situation, we will hide Selleene in my quarters. When opportunity strikes, we will send a small discrete troupe of people looking for the ingredients to make the antidote for Lady Selleene. I need a few herbs that are found only in the southernmost regions of Hyrule, close to the Wildlands.”  
“There… there is a cure!?” the Princess blurted out.  
“Yes.” The Doctor sighed again. “It’s very rare, but I know it exists. And I know just the person to retrieve it – he will gladly accept this mission, I’m sure.”  
“I see”, Zelda replied, feeling relief for the first time in a long while. “Well, that is quite a good plan. But how will we create this… drama?”  
“We have gotten word that plenty of places in Hyrule have been attacked by now”, Arko groaned. “Even my home village. If I go back to help and disappear mysteriously, as well as we pretend as Selleene dies from the poison, that will scare the opposers into understanding that we are not at fault.”  
“So… get the truth out from lying”, Zelda concluded.  
“Pretty much”, Arko admitted sheepishly. “It’s the only thing we can think of to kill two birds with one stone in all this mess.”  
“No, no, you are quite right”, Zelda admitted with a sigh. It was probably as they said.  
They got it all thought out, the voice reminded her again, but YOU…  
“So… what can I do?” Princess Zelda asked, looking up at the Doctor.  
The participants’ faces turned awkward and looked away from her. Even Marcus, that had stayed silent this whole time in his chair, now bit his lip, refraining from speaking.  
“The thing is, Your Grace”, the Doctor said. “I’ve come to the understanding that your health is in quite a bad condition, and, well, you have not been able to… well… deliver what you have needed. Due to feeble health and stress, naturally”, the Doctor was quick to add, “not because of incompetence. For Your Grace; you have a good heart and a good mind. This Union was your idea originally, and you really have considered every possible scenario and detail and worked so hard for this, and then all of these problems happen. It is no wonder you are exhausted. I will not see you fall again. We need you in the future, Princess.”  
They think you are weak.  
“But I must be of some use to my people”, Zelda insisted. “Please, Doctor; quickly heal me, so I can help them.”  
The Doctor sighed.  
“I cannot guarantee that things will go well for you, Princess. Please, take my advice; it is clear on your face that YOU. NEED. REST.”  
“But I can do this!” the Princess insisted. She felt her face fill up with blood. She was angry. She was more than angry. She was furious.   
She didn’t really know why. And she couldn’t control it.  
“I will head out among my people and do what I can!” she shouted. She had to be able to do something. And someone would take her side. Impa! Impa always thought of what was best for her as well as everyone else! Right?  
“But surely there must be SOMETHING I can do. Certainly Impa must –” Zelda begun.  
“Impa agrees”, the Doctor interrupted. “You’ve overworked yourself. Now, please, Your Grace. Rest.”  
Not even Impa thinks you are useful.  
“Then what did you need me for here!?” Zelda rose fiercely as she flew into a rage. “What was the point of me coming here if you were just going to tell me what YOU lot have planned and how I, the representative of the Royal Family, cannot do a thing, but should only sit and be pretty like some useless… doll!?”  
“But Your Grace!” Marcus insisted. “What if you die?”  
“Then my Father surely can take my place”, Zelda replied shortly. “You will be more than happy to have him here again, I am certain, as I am apparently unable to do anything!!”  
She had grunted that last sentence quite angrily. She even clenched her fists so hard that her knuckles turned white.  
The Princess glared at the other people in the room.  
“But what if he doesn’t return?” the Doctor asked calmly. “Then who will rule Hyrule? Who will be left to authorise the new Union?”  
Silence struck the entire room. Oh, goodness. Zelda hadn’t thought of that.   
The mere thought of being left alone, being the only heir to the throne left and the one who had to solve this mess… it was so… wrong. So… unbearable!  
“I…” Zelda bit her lip and tried not to think about it. Images of her father, dead – brutally killed, even, lying in the rain – flashed through her mind. It scared her. Zelda grabbed her arms like if she was suddenly freezing. She felt tears welling up in the corners of her eyes. “I...”  
“Your Grace”, the Doctor replied calmly. “You have overworked yourself way too much lately. You have already fainted once after all these unexpected events. It is better to lay low for the moment and focus on what we can do. Please, Princess Zelda. Have faith. I understand your anger. I would’ve been frustrated, too, in your position. But the fact is that you are not well. We will include you more in our plans as soon as you are well again. Please understand. We just wanted you to know about our plans, so you are not completely unaware of our actions from here on out.”   
Zelda exhaled hot, tense air. She understood. She more than well understood.   
But she still didn’t like it. She turned away and sighed, full of thoughts. She had been rude to her people.   
“I… apologise”, she said. “I was irrational.”  
“No”, the Doctor answered, “you were just frustrated. Quite natural in your situation.” Then he turned stern again. “Now, from this moment on, we will do our best to keep you safe. Young Marcus here has volunteered to guard you with his life.”  
The silent Marcus smiled sheepishly and waved his hand.   
“I will be joined by your childhood friend, too, after he’s escorted Brother Arko back to the mountains”, the soldier further explained. “He said that there wasn’t much he could do… but he wanted to watch over you nonetheless, Princess Zelda. Quite a devoted friend, he is.”  
“Oh… he truly is”, Zelda nodded in surprise. “I must thank him later.”  
Even he, someone who even does not believe in himself, is doing his best to help. And not you, not at all...  
“But surely”, she tried again, “I can do something? Some teensy little thing? Anything?”  
“Well”, Brother Arko sighed, “I applaud your tenacity, don’t think it’s a good idea right now. Forgive me, Princess Zelda, but I think it’s best that both you and I stay in the shadows for now. You can be blamed for the monsters, too, you know, if the opposers play their cards right. With the situation being what it is… well… this the most terrible state any of our homes have been in for ages. We could try and fight the monsters, of course… and risk our lives. I’m worried that my tribe up in the mountain might be in trouble, too. Sorry, but I need to stay low and I want to check up on them. Besides, considering what has happened to Lady Selleene, and all that… I’m in danger here in the castle town, in more ways than the monster attacks, and you never know what could happen, or when it could happen. It’s a tricky situation.”  
He shot a sharp glance at Princess Zelda, as if asking for confirmation. Unsure what to respond, she just nodded quietly.  
Yes. This was a rather terrible situation. The worst she had ever experienced.  
And you cannot do anything about it.  
That voice again. Ugh! Zelda bit her lip again and felt like uttering words a proper Princess never should utter, but hindered herself. She felt the anger bubbling in the back of her throat and stomach, but managed to keep it down… for the moment…  
The Doctor must’ve seen her frustration, for he said:   
“We will eagerly wait for your return to further discuss what we will do when the situation is a bit safer for everyone. Fear not; you will be included in our plans. This I can promise. You are, after all, the heir to the throne and one of the most important people in Hyrule. We would never have the indecency to leave you out of this.”  
“… I understand. Thank you.” Zelda gave up. Mentally. Her muscles were still tense and she felt like she could punch anything – or anyone – at any moment, if anything else annoyed her within the next few seconds.  
To keep herself calm, she tried to grunt quietly and wring her hands, staring at them in anger, as discreetly as she could.  
This was madness! Everyone was able to do things, but she, she was worthless! She might as well just throw herself off a cliff! Hyrule didn’t need a ruler! It didn’t need her! She would…  
Suddenly, Zelda gasped.  
There was another voice in her head.  
She was sure of it. She had barely noticed it at first, but now it was screaming – although, it sounded still very weakly.  
“Hello?” she whispered. Where was the voice? In the back of her head? Yes, that’s where it sounded like it came from. It was echoing, as if it came from somewhere far, far away, through a thick heap of cotton…  
“Who… who is there?” Zelda whispered.  
The voice got stronger. She could almost hear a word… but the voice was still so weak, so far away, that the syllables got lost in the echoing… even if the voice tried reaching out louder, and more desperate… she could hear it! She could hear it so loud and clear inside her head now! But...  
“What do you want from me!?” the Princess whispered quietly and curled up into a fetal position.  
She started shaking as the voice started screaming out a word, a two-syllable word, but Zelda couldn’t hear anything but an “aaaah!”   
… and suddenly, she realised she was screaming out loud.


End file.
